THE 


SHIP  "MARY  ALICE; 


on, 


MY  PEAYEES  WILL  BE  ANSWEEED,  —  GOD  WILL  SAVE 
YOU,  MY  PEECIOUS  BOY, 


BY 

REV.    THOMAS    ATWOOD. 


BOSTON: 
FEANKLIN  PEESS:  EAKD,  AVEEY,  &  CO. 

1878. 


COPYRIGHT,  1878, 
BY  EEV.  THOMAS  ATWOOD. 


PREFACE. 


THE  Author  of  this  narrative,  having  spent  more  than  thirty 
years  of  his  life  upon  the  ocean,  and  more  than  twenty  years  in 
the  Christian  ministry,  and  supposing  himself  laid  upon  the 
shelf  for  the  crime  of  being  an  old  man,  and  all  income  in  that 
direction  being  cut  off,  and  deprecating  idleness  even  in  old 
age,  has  written  the  within  narrative,  hoping  to  impress  the 
vast  importance  of  experimental  religion  upon  the  minds  of 
every  reader,  from  seeing  the  rich  and  ripe  clusters  of  precious 
fruit  which  others  have  gathered  for  themselves  from  the  vine- 
tree  of  Jesus'  love.  As  the  gospel-bearing  ship  "  Mary  Alice  " 
will  begin  her  history  and  mission,  so  the  Author  sends  this 
narrative  abroad,  which  describes  her  first  voyage  around  the 
globe.  Her  second  and  subsequent  ones  may  follow  the  first,  if 
this  volume  should  attract  and  benefit  the  reading  public. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE. 

Birth  and  Early  Life  of  John  Shields  and  his  Sister.  —  Painful 
Providence.  —  A  Dying  Mother's  Prediction. — Their  Fa 
ther's  Death,  and  the  Orphans'  Resolutions. — A  Painful 
Incident  and  its  Effects 7 

CHAPTER  II. 

Johnny's  First  Voyage  and  Promotion. — Johnny  visits  his 

Sister,  and  finds  her  in  a  Lunatic-Asylum 15 

CHAPTER  III. 

A  Thrilling  Incident  on  his  Third  Voyage.  —  His  Fourth  Voy 
age,  dismasted.  —  Answer  to  his  Mother's  Prayers  real 
ized. —  A  Double  "Wedding 24 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Resolutions  inspired  from  hearing  a  Sermon. — A  Launch,  and 
Night  upon  the  Ocean.  —  "  The  Mary  Alice "  sails  for  San 
Francisco. — A  Midnight  Conversion. — A  Powerful  Prayer- 
Meeting  34 

CHAPTER  V. 

Bill  falls  from  Aloft.  —  A  Doctor  found.  — Bill  wishes  to  repay 
the  Captain's  "Wife  for  nursing  him.  —  Bill's  Talk  with 
the  Sailor-Landlords  in  San  Francisco 50 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Alice  makes  her  Husband  a  Present.  —  A  Mysterious  Package 
found  and  opened,  and  a  Cousin  found.  —  A  Mutiny 
quelled  at  Midnight.  —  Two  more  new  Cousins  found  .  .  61 


b  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PAQE. 

An  Affliction  sanctified  by  Prayer. — Alice's  Prediction. — A 
Welcome  Visitor  and  Annie's  Letter.  —  Annie's  Marriage 
to  Mr.  Ernest  Shields  in  London.  —  The  "Wrecked  "Water 
logged  Ship.  —  A  Vessel  supplied  with  Water.  —  The 
Wrecked  Sailor's  History.  —  Mr.  Mainstay's  Sermon  to 
the  Wrecked  Sailors 71 

CHAPTER  VLTL 

Capt.  Shields's  Method  of  treating  Sailors  on  their  Arrival.  — 
Capt.  Shields  and  Wife,  her  Father,  and  Annie  and  Hus 
band,  visit  Mary. — The  Prayer-Meeting  in  G . — The 

Cemetery  and  Old  Home  visited.  — How  they  spent  the 
Sabbath.  —  Capt.  Shields's  Presents  to  his  Sister. —  Con 
clusion,  and  Marriage-Hymn 85 


THE  SHIP  "  MARY  ALICE.' 


CHAPTER  I. 

TOHN  SHIELDS,  the  subject  of  this  narrative,  was 
^  born  in  Vermont,  and  lived  with  "his  parents,  and 
worked  on  the  farm  with  his  father  through  all  the  long 
summer  daj-s.  The  only  education  he  received  was  by 
attending  the  fall  and  winter  terms  of  the  district  school. 
He  had  one  sister,  two  j'ears  his  senior,  whom  he  tenderly 
loved,  and  to  whom  he  was  very  warmly  attached :  her 
name  was  Mary  Bliss  Shields.  When  Johnny,  as  Maiy 
alwaj-s  called  him,  had  any  leisure  hours,  he  always  sought 
his  sister  Mary's  company.  She  was  his  only  playmate, 
guide,  and  counsellor.  Their  love  for  each  other  was  of 
that  quality  which  led  them  cheerfully  to  make  sacrifices 
one  for  the  other,  if  they  could  administer  to  each  other's 
happiness  by  the  sacrifices  they  made  ;  so  that,  if  either  of 
them  had  presents  made  them  by  their  friends  of  nuts  and 
candy,  they  remained  untouched  till  a  division  was  made 
between  them. 

Their  parents  were  not  wealthy  ;  yet  they  owned  a  snug 
little  farm,  which,  through  their  daily  industry  and  econo 
my,  had  alwa}Ts  yielded  them  something  more  than  a  com 
petence  for  their  daily  necessities.  Mr.  Shields  and  his 
wife,  the  parents  of  Johnny  and  Mary,  were  both  living, 
practical  Christians.  Mr.  Shields  was  an  Irish  Protes 
tant,  and  left  Ireland  in  1825  on  account  of  the  terrible 
persecution  to  which  all  Protestants  in  Ireland  were  at 
that  time  subjected,  and  was  at  the  time  he  landed  in 

B ,  only  twenty  years  of  age.     Remaining  in  B a 

few  days,  he  thought  it  would  be  better  to  go  into  the 


8  THE   SHIP   "MAEY  ALICE." 

country,  and  tr}r  to  learn  some  good  trade  which  he  be 
lieved  would  secure  to  him  a  good  living.  He  started  out 
on  foot,  depending  upon  God's  providence  to  guide  him, 

and  open  the  way.  He  came  into  the  town  of  "VY , 

where  he  hired  himself  to  a  Mr.  H ,  to  blow  and  strike 

in  his  blacksmith-shop.  Mr.  H soon  found  him  to  be 

a  good,  steady,  industrious  man,  and  he  made  a  contract 
with  him ;  and  Mr.  Shields  continued  to  work  for  Mr. 

H ,  receiving  his  board  and  twenty  dollars  per  month 

for  his  services. 

At  the  close  of  the  two  years  Mr.  Shields,  by  his  indus 
try  and  close  attention  to  his  business,  had  become  the 

best  horse-shoer  in  that  vicinity  ;  and  Mr.  H ,  fearing 

he  might  lose  him,  took  him  in  as  partner  in  his  business. 
He  remained  his  partner  for  four  years ;  and  in  1831  he 

dissolved  his  partnership  with  Mr.  H ,  and  went  to 

Vermont  and  bought  a  farm,  and  erected  a  blacksmith- 
shop  in  S ,  where,  during  the  fall  and  winter,  he 

worked  at  his  trade,  and  attended  to  his  farm  in  the 
summer. 

In  May,  1832,  seven  years  after  he  landed  in  B , 

Mr.  Shields  married  Miss  Mary  Bliss.  She  was  then 
twentj'-four,  and  he  was  twentj'-seven  years  of  age  ;  and  I 
remark  that  Mrs.  Shields  was  what  every  person  who 
knew  her  called  a  consistent  Christian.  Perhaps  none  en 
joyed  the  conjugal  relation  more  than  did  Mr.  Shields  and 
his  wife,  and  he  sometimes  playfully  called  her  his  Bliss 
ful  Mary.  Just  eighteen  months  after  their  marriage,  a 
little  daughter  was  given  them  to  gladden  their  hearts. 
The  loving  father  could  find  no  name  so  sweet  to  him  as 
that  of  his  loving  wife  ;  and  he  named  her  for  her  mother, 
—  Mary  Bliss  Shields.  She  proved  to  have  inherited  her 
mother's  mild,  affectionate,  trusting  disposition,  which 
soon  made  her  a  little  sunbeam  of  light  and  love.  Two 
3'ears  after,  little  Johnn}'  made  his  appearance  in  the  house 
hold  to  quicken  the  loving  pulses  of  father,  mother,  and 
sister ;  and  here  was  found  one  useful,  loving,  Christian 
family. 

Mr.  Shields  began  the  world  right ;  and,  from  the  day 
of  his  marriage,  he  never  allowed  business,  friends,  or 
any  other  circumstances  within  his  control,  to  prevent 


THE   SHIP   "MAEY  ALICE."  9 

him  from  sustaining  Ms  daily  family  worship ;  and  often 
told  his  wife,  that  at  the  morning  altar  he  found  strength 
for  the  duties  of  the  day.  Thus  his  two  children  were 
brought  up  and  educated  to  believe  that  God's  claims 
upon  them  were  of  first  importance,  and  must  never  be 
neglected.  God  and  his  claims  first,  and  business  and 
the  world  afterwards,  was  his  motto.  The  children  at  an 
early  age  attended  the  sabbath  school.  Mary,  at  the  age 
of  twelve  years,  indulged  hope  in  Jesus  her  Saviour  ;  and, 
although  young,  she  very  soon  became  a  very  intelligent 
and  practical  Christian.  Her  mother  had  discharged  her 
duty  faithfully,  and  now  she  was  reaping  the  sweet  fruit 
age.  Little  Mar}7  became  very  anxious  for  her  dear 
brother  Johnny,  that  he,  too,  might  know  and  love  the 
same  Saviour  who  had  forgiven  her  sins,  and  made  her 
rejoice  in  Jesus'  love.  But  Johnny,  although  he  had 
been  taught  the  importance  of  religion,  was  so  fond  of 
play,  that  he  could  not  seem  to  fix  his  young  mind  upon 
the  subject. 

In  January,  1848,  Mrs.  Shields  had  taken  a  severe 
cold.  A  fever  soon  set  in,  which  brought  on  a  terrible 
cough ;  and  though  husband,  doctors,  children,  and 
neighbors,  by  whom  she  was  universally  beloved,  did  all 
that  could  be  done,  a  quick  consumption  soon  did  its 
work.  Her  husband's  love  for  her  had  been  so  deep, 
ardent,  and  tender,  that  it  seemed  as  though  his  own  life 
would  soon  pay  the  forfeit  of  his  love  for  her  whom  he 
regarded  as  the  best  woman  upon  earth.  Mrs.  Shields 
was,  in  fact,  a  noble  woman,  —  noble  as  a  wife  and  mother, 
noble  as  a  constant,  practical,  living  Christian.  The  in 
fluence  of  her  Christlike  spirit  was  felt  not  only  in  her 
household  and  the  church,  but  in  her  neighborhood,  and 
wherever  she  was  known.  She  had  become  fully  ripe ; 
and  her  Saviour  called  her  away  from  the  cares  and  toils 
of  earth  to  the  home  of  the  blessed.  After  she  was  taken 
sick,  and  felt  that  she  was  about  to  leave  those  she  loved, 
she  felt  very  anxious  for  her  dear  Johnny.  She  called 
him  to  her  bedside.  He  was  about  fourteen  years  of  age. 
She  said,  "  My  dear  boj7,  your  mother  will  soon  leave  you, 
and  go  to  dwell  with  Jesus.  If  you  were  only  a  Chris 
tian,  there  would  not  be  a  pang  of  sorrow  in  my  leaving 


10  THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE." 

3rou  all.  Your  dear  father  and  sister,  that  you  love,  will 
find  a  home  with  me  in  yon  bright  world  of  glory  when 
ever  Jesus  the  Master  calls  them."  She  then  put  her 
arm  around  him,  and  drew  him  closer  to  her,  and  said, 
"Remember,  and  never  forget,  the  words  of  your  dying 
mother :  Give  your  heart  and  your  life  to  Jesus.  Trust 
in  him  as  your  sister  has,  and  Jesus  will  save  you  as  he 
did  save  her.  God  will  answer  my  prayers  for  you.  God 
will  save  you,  my  precious  boy."  The  effort  she  had  made 
to  impress  truth  upon  Johnny's  mind  weakened  her  so 
much,  that  she  only  lingered  a  few  hours  ;  and  her  last 
words  were,  "  All  is  peace."  Peace,  indeed,  and  triumph 
and  glory,  for  her,  but  not  so  to  the  bleeding  husband  and 
father's  soul.  She  was  buried  from  the  church  where  she 
for  3"ears  had  ever  been  a  consistent  member  ;  and,  as  one 
after  another  looked  into  that  sweet  face  from  which  the 
victor's  smile  had  not  yet  departed,  each  felt  that  there 
was  a  supporting  power  in  the  religion  of  Jesus  to  which 
this  world  were  strangers. 

After  the  funeral  was  over,  and  the  grief-stricken  ones 
had  returned  to  their  homes,  Mr.  Shields  called  his  two 
children  to  him,  and  said,  "Your  dear  mother  has  gone 
to  dwell  with  the  Saviour  she  so  ardently  loved,  and  whom 
she  so  faithfully  served.  And  now,  my  dear  Mary,  I  wish 
to  tell  you  that  you  have  many  of  your  dear  mother's 
traits  of  character,  I  trust,  indelibly  stamped  upon  your 
heart,  as  well  as  her  features  and  form  of  person ;  and 
my  desire  is,  that  you  may  become  as  good  and  useful  as 
your  dear  mother  was.  You  will  now  assume  all  the 
duties  of  housekeeper,  for  which  your  mother  has  so 
faithfully  trained  and  educated  you ;  and  I  know  it  will 
be  your  pleasure  to  try  to  comfort  me  in  my  heart-rending 
sorrow.  I  fear  that  both  of  you,  my  dear  loved  children, 
will  soon  be  left  orphans  ;  and  I  now,  therefore,  commit 
and  commend  you  to  my  faithful  Saviour,  who  is  the 
orphans'  God.  Your  dear  mother's  death  will,  I  fear, 
soon  be  the -means  of  terminating  my  own  existence  here 
with  3Tou.  Although  in  heart  I  am  fully  resigned  to  God's 
will  in  removing  my  almost  idolized  wife  from  earth  to 
heaven,  yet  my  physical  structure  has  received  such  a 
shock,  that  I  fear  it  will  never  rally  again  to  my  former 


THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE."  11 

state  of  health.  My  farm  is  unencumbered.  I  owe  no 
debts.  If  I  should  die  suddenly,  in  my  desk  you  will 
find  my  bank-book,  which  claims  one  thousand  dollars  in 

the  savings  bank  in  B .  The  farm  and  buildings  are 

worth  about  four  thousand  dollars  more.  Thus  you  see 
that  you  will  have  something  to  begin  the  world  with.  I 
have  told  }'ou  how  I  began  life  ;  and,  when  I  married  your 
mother,  I  believe  I  was  the  happiest  man  on  earth.  Should 
either  of  you  ever  marry,  I  beg  of  you,  under  no  circum 
stances,  ever  to  many  any  person  that  is  not  a  living, 
practical  Christian." 

Only  one  year  had  passed  away  after  Mr.  Shields 
buried  his  wife,  when  he  was,  by  his  neighbors,  brought 
home  dead.  While  shoeing  a  horse,  his  hammer  fell  out 
of  his  hand,  and  he  fell  over  backward  without  utttering 
a  word  or  groan.  The  attending  plrysician  said  he  had 
died  with  a  sudden  attack  of  the  heart.  Johnny  was  at 
work  in  the  yard,  sawing  wood,  when  the  lifeless  body 
of  his  father  was  brought  home.  So  sudden  was  the 
announcement,  that  his  sister  Mary  fainted  away.  When 
Johnnj'  saw  the  bod}T  of  his  dead  father,  and  his  appar 
ently  lifeless  sister,  whom  he  loved  even  dearer  than  his 
own  life,  he  broke  down,  and  cried  out  in  his  grief-stricken 
anguish,  "  I  am  all  alone  !  "  He  embraced  his  sister,  say 
ing,  "Mary,  my  dear  sister  Mar}",  do  speak  to  me  once 
more  !  Speak,  dear  Mary  !  Do  not  leave  me  alone,  my 
dear  sister!"  Oh,  how  often  does  the  dear  Father  in 
heaven  send  these  sharp  pangs  of  sorrow  into  human 
hearts,  to  test,  prove,  and  discipline  us,  and  better  fit  us 
to  accomplish  our  mission  here  upon  earth !  After  an 
hour's  unconsciousness  Mary  was  restored.  The  neigh 
bors,  friends,  and  their  pastor,  all  gathered  around,  and 
deeply  sympathized  with  these  lonely  orphans,  administer 
ing  consolation  and  assistance  to  these  children  of  afflic 
tion  and  sorrow. 

These  two  children  had  loved  their  dear  mother  with 
all  the  warm  intensity  of  their  young  hearts ;  but  their 
dear  father  was  left  to  them,  and  their  hearts  clung  to 
him  as  the  running  vine  clings  to  the  wall.  Now  he 
was  gone,  their  last  earthly  prop  had  been  removed. 
After  the  first  gush  of  feeling  had  subsided,  dear  trusting 


12  THE   SHIP   "MABY  ALICE." 

Mary  said  to  her  dear  brother  Johnny,  "  Jesus  is  left  to 
us  still.  Jesus  never  dies,  and  will  support  us,  even  in 
this  sad  affliction.  You  know,  my  dear  brother,  that 
father  and  mother  both  taught  us  to  trust  in  Jesus  ;  and 
his  word  says,  '  They  that  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  be  as 
Mount  Zion,  which  cannot  be  removed,  but  abideth  for 
ever.'  '  And  Johnny  said,  "  Dear  Mary,  I  wish  I  could 
see  and  feel  as  you  do ;  but  I  cannot.  If  God  had  not 
.jtaken  awa}-  our  dear  father,  I  think  I  could  have  borne  my 
mother's  death  better.  But,  now  both  are  gone,  what 
shall  we  do?"  —  "Why,  Johnny,  do  you  not  remember 
what  dear  father  told  us  after  mother's  death?  He  said 
that  his  Saviour  would  be  the  orphans'  God ;  and  I  am 
sure  he  will.  And  I  want  3*011  to  trust  him  now."  —  "Well, 
for  your  sake  I  will  try." 

Mr.  Shields  had  ever  been  a  very  warm-hearted,  con 
sistent  Christian  man,  whose  counsel  was  ever  sought 
because  of  his  prudence  and  discretion.  His  life  had 
been  an  open  volume  of  love  to  God  and  good-will  to 
men. 

After  the  funeral  the  two  orphans  returned  to  their  sad 
home.  Mar}^  said  to  Johnny,  "  I  think  we  had  better 
continue  to  keep  house,  and  you  do  the  farm-work,  and  I 
will  help  you  all  I  can."  Johnny  assented  to  his  dear 
sister's  proposals.  He  had  never  thought  of  doing  any 
thing  without  first  submitting  it  to  the  judgment  of  his 
dear  Mary ;  and  his  love  for  her  since  the  death  of  his 
father  had  become,  if  possible,  doubly  intensified.  He 
was  so  afraid  something  would  happen  to  her  when  he 
•was  in  the  field  at  work,  that  he  told  her,  if  she  ever 
wanted  him,  to  blow  the  dinner-horn,  and  he  would  come 
to  her  at  once.  When  the  hay-season  came  on,  he  told 
his  sister  he  would  not  be  able  to  cut  all  their  grass,  cure 
it,  and  get  it  into  the  barn,  without  help  ;  and  Mary 
thought  he  ought  to  have  help  too.  At  this  time  a  very 
good-looking  young  man  asked  Johnny  if  he  knew  of  any 
person  who  wished  to  hire  help  through  the  hay-season ; 
and  Johnny  told  him  he  wished  to  hire  some  one  to  help 
him  get  his  hay.  He  agreed  to  work  for  Johnny  for  a 
dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  day  and  his  board,  through  the 
haying-season.  Johnny  invited  him  into  the  house,  and 


THE   SHIP   "MAKY  ALICE."  13 

introduced  him  to  his  sister  Mary  ;  and  all  went  on  very 
well  until  the  third  da3r,  when  Johnny  missed  his  hired 
man,  but  thought  nothing  of  it  until  he  heard  the  well- 
known  horn  blow.  Without  dropping  his  pitchfork,  lie 
ran  as  quick  as  he  could  to  the  house.  Mary  appeared 
at  one  of  the  attic-windows,  and  told  Johnn}'  that  the 
young  man  had  insulted  her,  and  she  had  taken  the  horn 
and  fled  to  the  attic,  and  fastened  all  the  doors  behind 
her,  that  she  might  be  safe  until  he  came. 

Johnn}*,  on  hearing  his  sister's  story,  became  so  en 
raged,  that  Mary  was  affrighted.  She  had  never  in  her  life 
seen  her  brother's  temper  raised  before  ;  and  she  began 
to  beg  him  not  to  hurt  the  man,  but  pay  him,  and  send 
him  away.  But  Johnny  would  not  listen  to  his  sister 
now :  she  had  been  insulted,  and  that  he  would  not  for 
one  moment  bear.  lie  would  protect  his  sister  with  his 
life,  if  it  was  necessaiy.  The  man  had  fastened  all  the 
outside  doors.  He  ordered  him  to  open  the  door ;  but  he 
refused.  Johnny  went  into  the  cellar,  and  up  the  cellar- 
stairs  ;  and  in  a  moment  he  stood  before  the  man  who 
had  insulted  his  dear  sister  Mary,  with  the  following 
words :  "I  did  not  hire  you  to  insult  my  sister.  Now 
leave  my  house  this  moment.  Come  here  to-morrow, 
and  I  will  pay  you  what  I  owe  3'ou."  The  young  man 
said,  "  You  hired  me  for  the  hay-season,  and  I  shall  not 
leave  until  the  season  closes."  Mary,  hearing  some 
loud  words,  and  fearing  the  consequences,  made  her  ap 
pearance,  to  aid,  if  possible,  in  the  peaceable  settlement  of 
the  matter.  As  soon  as  she  came  into  the  room,  this 
young  man  attempted  to  embrace  her  in  his  arms.  Johnny 
in  an  instant  thrust  his  pitchfork  through  his  body,  and 
he  fell  to  the  floor  with  the  cry,  "  You  have  killed  me  !  " 
Johnny  mounted  a  horse,  and  went  for  a  plrysician,  send 
ing  some  of  the  neighbors  to  Mary's  assistance.  The 
doctor  came,  examined  and  dressed  the  wound,  saying  it 
was  not  dangerous  ;  and  the  neighbors  removed  the  man 
to  the  alms-house,  to  be  cared  for  by  the  overseer.  In 
the  mean  time,  Johnny,  fearing  the  consequences,  told 
Mar}'  he  must  flee,  and  leave,  for  fear  of  arrest.  Mary 
besought  him  to  give  himself  up  to  the  officers  of  law, 
and  all  would  be  well.  But  Johnny  was  so  filled  with 


14  THE   SHIP   "  MARY  ALICE." 

fear,  that  he  dared  not  remain.  Taking  a  few  dollars  and 
a  few  clothes,  he  very  warmly  embraced  his  dear  sister, 
saying  he  would  write  to  her,  but  would  not  tell  her  where 
he  was  going.  It  is  doubtful  if  he  knew  himself  where 
he  was  going  ;  for  he  was  so  much  excited,  that  he  hardly 
knew  what  he  did  or  said. 


CHAPTER  II. 

"V""OUNG  Shields  made  his  way  straight  to  a  seaport, 
•*-     and  found  a  ship  bound  to  London,  commanded  by 

Capt.  B .     After  the  ship  had  hauled  into  the  stream 

he  wrote  to  his  sister. 

Johnny  was  very  seasick  for  a  few  days ;  and,  after  it 
was  over,  some  of  the  old  tars  began  to  impose  duties 
upon  Johnny  which  he  had  never  agreed  to  perform  ;  and, 
if  he  showed  the  slightest  indisposition  to  perform  them, 
then  they  would  strike  and  kick  him.  After  patiently 
bearing  their  insults  as  long  as  he  could,  he  told  Capt. 

B how  the  crew  had  been  treating  him.     Capt.  B 

called  all  hands  aft,  and  told  them  the  first  man  that 
imposed  upon  his  boy  again  he  would  put  in  irons  for 
disobedience  of  orders.  After  this  every  thing  went  on 
quietly ;  and  Johnm*  grew  in  favor  with  his  captain  and 
officers.  Arriving  in  London,  the  second  mate  and  all 
the  crew  left  the  ship.  After  the  home  cargo  was  in,  and 

all   stowed   away,  Capt.  B called   Johnny  into  the 

cabin,  and  said  to  him,  "  Although  this  is  }'our  first  voy 
age,  I  am  so  well  satisfied  with  your  character,  that  I  now 
offer  you  the  the  second  officer's  berth  on  board  my  ship  ; 
and  Mr.  Transom  and  myself  will  teach  you  all  we  can, 
and  you  must  not  be  afraid  or  ashamed  to  ask  any  ques 
tion  of  myself  or  of  my  first  officer."  Johnny  was  over 
whelmed  with  astonishment  at  Capt.  B 's  proposal ; 

but  he  accepted  the  office,  and  filled  it  faithfully,  to  the 
satisfaction  of  both  captain  and  mate. 

They  arrived  home  in  1850.  He  wrote  to  his  sister  to 
get  some  one  to  look  after  the  place,  and  come  and  meet 

him  at  the  T House.     On  the  fifth  da}*  after  his  arrival 

his  dear  sister  met  him  at  the  T House.  '  After  a 

warm,  loving  greeting,  Mary  wished  him  to  return  home 
with  her.  He  then  told  her  that  he  meant  to  follow  the 


16  THE   SHIP   "MAKY   ALICE." 

sea,  and  hoped,  by  strict  attention  to  his  business,  to  rise 
to  a  captain's  office.  She  rejoiced  with  him  in  his  promo 
tion,  and  told  him  the  man  with  whom  he  had  the  diffi 
culty  had  got  well,  and  had  gone  away  to  some  other  part 
of  the  country.  Mary  spent  only  a  few  days  with  her 
brother,  and  then  returned  to  her  country  home.  In 
March  her  brother's  ship  sailed  for  San  Francisco,  with 
fifty  gold-hunting  passengers  on  board,  arriving  there  in 
July.  In  August  the}'  sailed  again  for  Hong  Kong,  where 
they  arrived  after  a  passage  of  thirty-two  days.  In  No 
vember  the}'  sailed  for  B .  All  went  on  well  till  in 

January.  While  scudding  before  a  heavy  gale,  under  a 
close-reefed  maintopsail  and  fore-staysail,  through  the 
carelessness  of  the  man  at  the  wheel  the  ship  broached 
to  ;  and  a  sea  swept  overboard  the  man  at  the  wheel,  and 
Mr.  Transom  the  first  officer,  cleaning  the  decks  of  water- 
casks,  spare  spars,  and  bulwarks,  and  making  the  ship 
to  tremble  from  truck  to  keelson.  The  captain  and  all 
hands  were  on  deck  as  soon  as  they  could  get  there. 
When  it  was  found  that  Mr.  Transom,  the  first  officer, 
had  been  swept  overboard,  a  sad  wail  of  woe  was  heard 
by  every  man  on  board  ;  for  he  was  loved  by  all,  and  by 
none  more  than  Johnny ;  for  he  had  been  his  teacher, 
and  Johnny  had  availed  himself  of  his  faithful  instruc 
tions. 

Capt.  B mourned  the  loss  of  his  first  officer,  who 

had  been  with  him  several  voyages,  and  expected  to  have 

command  of  "The  S ,"  or  some  other  ship,  on  their 

arrival  home.  Nothing  more  occurred  worth}'  of  note 
during  the  remnant  of  their  passage.  But  we  must  drop 
the  familiar  term  of  Johnny  now  ;  for  he  has  become  the 

first  officer  of  the  noble  ship  "  S ."  They  arrived  the 

following  February,  making  the  passage  in  one  hundred 
days  from  Hong  Kong  to  B . 

After  the  cargo  was  discharged,  Mr.  Shields  asked  Capt. 

B for  a  brief  furlough,  which  was -readily  given.  He 

took  the  train  for  B ,  and  then  hired  a  man  to  carry 

him  to  his  old  home  in  G .  As  he  drew  near,  and 

recognized  some  of  the  old  trees,  his  heart  leaped  for  joy 
to  think  he  should  surprise  his  dear  sister,  and  hold  her 
in  his  embrace  ere  she  was  aware.  He  arrived  at  the  old 


THE  SHIP   "MAKY  ALICE."  17 

home  about  four  P.M.  ;  but,  instead  of  meeting  his  dear 
sister  Mary,  he  was  met  by  a  strange  gentleman  that  he 
had  never  seen  before.  He  immediately  inquired  for  his 
sister,  and  made  himself  known  as  her  brother,  and  was 
promptly  told  she  was  not  at  home..  He  inquired  where 
she  was  ;  for  he  must  see  her,  let  her  be  wherever  she 
might  be.  After  a  while  the  gentleman  told  him  she  was 
his  wife,  and  had  become  insane,  and  he  found  it  neces 
sary  to  send  her  away  because  he  could  not  live  peaceably 
with  her.  Mr.  Shields  in  a  moment  mistrusted  that  some 
thing  was  wrong  ;  and,  fearing  he  should  arouse  the  man's 
suspicions,  he  assumed  as  quiet  an  appearance  as  possible. 
He  then  asked  him  when  the}-  were  married.  He  told 
him  on  New- Year's  Day,  Jan.  1,  1851,  and  that  their 

pastor,  Rev.  Mr.  M ,  had  married  them.     Mr.  Shields, 

being  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  M ,  thought  it  best 

to  repair  to  the  pastor's  house  to  get  a  more  correct  solu 
tion  of  the  strange  story  told  him  by  his  new-found 

brother-in-law.     Mr.  M gave  him  a  warm  and  cordial 

reception,  asking  if  he  had  been  at  his  old  home.     After 

replying  in  the  affirmative,  Mr.  M said,  "  Come  into 

my  study,  and  I  will  frankly  tell  you  all  I  know  about  it. 

Mr.  II came  here  to  G some  time  in  November 

last,  and  brought  with  him  a  letter  from  a  church  in  New 
York,  and  upon  that  letter  was  received  into  our  church. 
His  zeal  and  apparent  active  piety  made  him .  many  warm 
friends.  He  took  charge  of  a  Bible-class  in  our  sabbath 
school ;  and  his  apparent  ready  knowledge  of  the  Bible 
very  soon  won  for  him  the  admiration  of  all ;  and  3rour 
dear  sister  Mary  became  very  warmly  attached  to  him. 
In  December  Mary  came  to  me  for  advice,  and  I  gave 
her  as  good  counsel  as  I  knew  how.  to  give.  She  said 

that  Mr.  II had  asked  her  to  become  his  wife.     She 

kept  nothing  back.  She  told  me  what  her  father  had  said 
to  her  before  he  died ;  and  like  a  loving,  confiding  girl, 
as  she  always  was,  she  had  come  to  her  pastor  for  advice, 
and  I  freely  gave  it.  While  I  could  see  no  reason  why 
she  might  not  accept  his  proposals,  yet,  as  he  was  an 
entire  stranger,  I  could  see  nothing  inconsistent  with  his 
waiting  until  she  had  more  time  and  a  better  opportunity 
of  judging  his  character.  Before  she  left  me  I  urged  her 


18  THE   SHIP   "  MAKY   ALICE." 

b}T  all  means  to  wait  till  your  return.  She  thanked  me 
kindly  for  my  counsel,  but  made  me  no  other  reply.  I 
soon  became  satisfied  that  he  was  pressing  his  suit  with 
such  vigor  that  I  feared  the  contract  would  soon  be  closed. 
She  never  came  to  me  for  advice  again.  On  the  even 
ing  of  last  New-Year's  Day  they  came  to  my  house, 
and  I  married  them  here.  In  three  weeks  after  his  mar 
riage  he  was  excluded  from  our  church  for  gambling.  I 
suppose  you  knew  your  father  left  a  thousand  dollars  in 

the  bank  in  B ;  and  her  husband  managed  to  get  five 

hundred  dollars  of  that  money,  which  was  all  spent  in 
gambling.  Then  Mary  went  to  the  bank,  and  forbade 
them  paying  him  any  more  money,  saying  the  other  five 
hundred  belonged  to  her  brother.  Finding  that  source 
of  income  diy,  he  then  entered  the  blacksmith's  shop, 
and  carried  all  the  tools  away,  and  sold  them  for  what  he 
could  get.  He  then  sold  your  father's  family  horse,  and 
spent  the  monej'  in  the  same  waj- ;  and  it  was  some  days 
before  his  wife  knew  he  had  sold  her  horse.  All  these  he 
sold  to  gratify  his  gambling  propensities.  Only  a  few 

da}'S  afterwards,  one  of  her  neighbors,  Mr.  D ,  told 

her  that  her  husband  had  offered  to  sell  him  her  favorite 

cow  Dolly  for  twenty  dollars.     She  said  to  Mr.  D- , 

'  I  wish  }-ou  to  come  here  this  evening  as  a  witness  to 

what  I  wish  to  say  to  him.'     That  evening  Mr.  D 

came  ;  and  Mary  said  to  him,  in  Mr.  D 's  presence, 

'  Mr.   H ,  }-ou  came   here   last  fall,   and   brought   a 

letter  from  a  B church  in  New  York,  and  was  cor 
dially  received  ;  and  at  that  time  no  member  in  the  church 
was  more  warmly  loved  than  }*ou  were.  Up  to  the  time 
you  married  me,  last  New-Year's  Eve,  you  seemed  to  be 
a  consistent  Christian  man.  Three  weeks  after  our  mar 
riage  you  were  excluded  from  the  church  for  gambling ; 

and  I  tell  you  now,  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  D ,  that 

you  are  a  base  h}rpocrite.  You  have  deceived  me.  Your 
love  for  me  was  only  assumed,  that  }TOU  might  the  better 
accomplish  your  gambling  designs,  which  at  that  time 
were  fully  developed.  You  promised  before  God  to  love, 
cherish,  and  protect  me  as  your  wife.  Then  I  loved  you, 
and  I  did  make  sacrifices  to  gratify  your  wishes  ;  but  you 
spent  my  money  and  sold  my  property  without  my  knowl- 


THE   SHIP   "MAKY  ALICE."  19 

edge  or  consent.  My  father's  horse,  which  had  been  one 
of  our  famil}"  pets  for  several  }rears,  you.  sold  without  my 
knowledge  ;  and  last  night  you  offered  him  my  best  cow, 

dear  old   Dolly,  for  twenty  dollars.'  —  '  If  Mr.   D • 

says   that,   he   is  a  liar,'   said  the   infuriated   husband. 

Mr.  D then  said,  '  You  came  into  my  barn  while  I 

was  milking,  and  said  you  would  sell  me  Dolly  for  twenty 
dollars  ;  and  I  asked  you  if  you  had  Mary's  permission. 
And  do  you  not  remember  the  reply  you  made  me  ?  "I 
am  master  now,  and  will  do  with  the  property  as  I  think 

best."  '  —  '  Mr.  D ,  you  are  a  liar,  sir.     I  repeat  it ; 

and  I  wish  you  to  leave  my  house  at  once.'     Mr.  D 

said,  '  I  will,  but  not  till  I  have  first  taught  you  to  carry 
a  civil  tongue  in  your  head.'  And  the  sturdy  farmer 

took  Mr.  H by  the  collar,  and  cuffed  his  ears  right 

smartly,  till  he  begged  the  farmer's  pardon.     Mr.  D 

then  left  the  house.     As  soon  as  he  was  gone,  Mr.  H 

laid  hold  of  his  wife,  that  he  had  promised  to  protect, 
saying,  '  I  will  pay  you  now  for  saying  what  you  did  in 

Mr.  D 's  presence.'     He  choked  her  until  she  fell; 

and,  in  falling,  she  struck  her  head  violently  upon  the 
stove.  He  then  took  her  in  his  arms,  and  laid  her  upon 
a  bed  ;  for  he  was  terribly  frightened  lest  she  would  die. 
He  called  to  one  of  his  neighbors  to  go  for  the  doctor,  and 
it  was  some  three  hours  before  he  came.  He  immediately 

inquired  about  the  cause  ;    and  Mr.  H said  she  fell 

upon  the  stove,  but  said  nothing  about  how  she  came  to 
fall  upon  the  stove.  The  doctor,  in  his  examination,  dis 
covered  a  large  black  spot  upon  each  side  of  her  neck, 

which  he  could  not  seem  to  understand.     Mrs.  H 

was,  after  a  long  time,  restored  to  consciousness  ;  but  her 
mind  seemed  to  be  wandering ;  but  she  soon  recognized 
the  doctor,  and  called  him  by  name.  Her  husband  came 
to  the  bedside,  intending  to  do  something  for  her.  She 
said,  'Go  away  from  me:  you  have  killed  me  now.' 
Then  her  mind  seemed  to  wander  again  ;  and  then  she 
would  cry,  saying,  '  Dear  Lord,  send  my  dear  Johnny 
home  to  me  :  Johnny  will  take  care  of  me  when  he  comes  : 
Johnny  loves  me,  and  I  love  Johnny.'  The  doctor  told 

Mr.  H that  it  was  necessary  that  some  good  woman 

should  take  charge  of  Mrs.  H ,  and  that  she  must  be 


20  THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE." 

kept  very  quiet.  A  little  after,  Mrs.  H said  to  the 

doctor,  '  I  wish  you  would  send  for  widow  B to  come 

and  take  care  of  me  ;  for  she  is  a  good  Christian  woman, 
but  pra}-  don't  you  leave  me  till  she  comes.' 

"  At  this  remark  the  doctor's  suspicions  were  raised, 
whether  those  black  spots  were  not  caused  b}~  A'iolence  of 
some  kind  ;  and  he  despatched  one  of  the  neighbors  for 

widow  B .  He  had  asked  her  husband  to  go ;  but 

he  refused,  saying  he  might  be  needed  in  the  house,  but 
he  never  left  the  room  while  the  doctor  remained.  Some 

two  hours  after,  widow  B came,  and  was  very  much 

astonished  to  find  Mrs.  H in  such  a  condition. 

Widow  B was  a  very  smart,  fearless  woman,  and  a 

good  Christian  woman,  and  had  heard  of  Mr.  II —  — 's 
gambling  proclivities.  After  she  came,  the  doctor  gave  her 
directions,  and  went  home,  saying  he  would  come  again 

in  the  morning.  Mr.  H soon  retired ;  and,  when 

he  was  gone,  Mrs.  H told  widow  B the  whole 

story,  how  he  choked  her  until  she  fell,  and  showed  her 
the  black  spots  he  made  upon  her  throat  with  his  fingers. 

Widow  B said  to  her  that  she  had  better  say  nothing 

to  him  now  about  the  matter,  and  talk  but  little  when  he. 
was  in  the  room ;  that  she  would  take  good  care  of  her, 
and  she  should  want  for  nothing. 

"  In  the  morning  he  came  in,  went  to  the  bedside,  and 
said,  '  How  are  you  feeling  this  morning?  '  She  said,  '  My 
throat  is  very  sore  indeed.'  He  turned  away  at  once, 
and  showed  evident  signs  of  guilt.  Through  the  da}T  she 
showed  evident  signs  of  partial  insanity  at  least.  When 
the  doctor  came,  and  examined  her,  he  shook  his  head, 
sa}'ing  he  had  fears  that  she  might  lose  her  reason ;  and 
several  times,  when  she  saw  her  husband,  she  would  say, 
'  I  hate  him :  drive  him  away.  He  sold  my  horse :  he 
wants  to  kill  me.'  And  she  would  cover  herself  up  in  the 

bedclothes  to  get  out  of  his  sight.  Mr.  II said  to 

the  doctor,  '  Is  it  not  strange  that  insane  people  often 
hate  their  best  friends? '  The  doctor  replied,  by  saving  it 
was  strange  ;  but  sometimes  insane  people  knew  who  their 
best  friends  were.  Nothing  more  was  said  upon  this 
subject.  Through  the  da}-  she  would  at  times  seem  to  be 
filled  with'fear,  and  exclaim,  '  Do  save  me  from  that  man  ! 


THE   SHIP    "MAKY   ALICE."  21 

he  means  to  kill  me.'  And  then  she  would  become  as 
quiet  as  an  infant.  Toward  night  she  seemed  more  ra 
tional,  and  for  the  first  time  asked  for  food.  The  nurse 
brought  her  some  nice  gruel ;  and  she  drank  it  very  freely, 
and  seemed  more  like  herself  than  at  any  time  since  she 
was  taken  sick.  Through  the  night  she  slept  quietly,  and 
in  the  morning  she  wanted  to  get  up  ;  and  she  sat  up  the 
most  of  the  da3*,  and  seemed  as  rational  as  she  ever  was. 
Her  husband  did  not  come  into  the  room  during  the  day. 
The  next  day  she  went  about  the  house  some,  and  wished 
to  know  if  her  cows  were  taken  care  of,  and  her  fowls 
and  pigs.  Mr.  PI suggested  that  she  might  now  dis 
charge  her  nurse,  and  save  some  expense.  She  replied, 
saying  it  was  a  great  pity  that  he  did  not  think  of  saving 
expense  when  he  was  gambling  away  her  property.  He 
answered,  saying,  '  The  least  you  say  about  that,  the 
better  it  will  be  for  you.'  The  nurse  coming  in,  nothing 
more  was  said.  He  told  the  nurse  she  might  go  home  in 
the  morning.  She  said  that  she  should  not  leave  as  long 

as  Mrs.  II wished  her  to  remain.     That  morning  the 

doctor  called  in  to  see  how  she  was  getting  along ;  and 

Mr.  PI asked  the  doctor  if  he  was  acquainted  with 

Dr.  S ,  the  principal  physician  of  the  lunatic-asylum 

at  B .     Pie  said  he   only  knew  him   by  repute,  but 

thought  him  very  eminently  fitted  to  fill  that  position.  He 
then  asked  the  doctor  if  he  did  not  think  it  would  be  a 

good  plan  to  request  Dr.  S to  visit  his  wife,  and  for 

him  to  meet  with  him  in  consultation  :  the  doctor  said  he 

certainly  should  have  no  objections.      Mr.  H said 

he  would  write  to  him,  and,  when  he  received  his  reply, 
would  notify  him  of  the  time  appointed  for  consulta 
tion.  Two  days  afterward  Dr.  S came,  and  was  in 
troduced  by  the  family  physician  to  the  nurse  and  to 

Mrs.  H .     She  was  surprised  at  seeing  another  plr^si- 

cian  called,  without  her  being  made  aware  of  his  coming  ; 
and  it  gave  her  nervous  sj-stem  such  a  sudden  shock  as  to 
dethrone  her  reason  again  for  the  time  being.  The  con 
sultation  resulted  in  the  opinions  of  the  physicians  that 
she  had  better  be  removed  to  the  asylum  as  soon  as  she 
was  able  to  be  removed.  Three  days  after  the  consulta 
tion,  under  a  plea  that  a  ride  was  prescribed  by  the  physi- 


22  THE   SHIP   "MARY   ALICE." 

cians,  she  was  carried  to  the  lunatic-asylum  in  B ,  and 

she  has  now  been  there  two  weeks.  Thus  I  believe  I 
have  given  you  every  item  concerning  youv  sister  Mary, 
as  far  as  I  have  known  them,  since  her  marriage  to  Mr. 
H ." 

Mr.  Shields  then  said,  "  My  dear  sister  Man-,  your  im 
prisonment  in  B and  to  that  man  will  soon  terminate." 

The  next  morning  he  called  upon  their  family  plrysician, 

and  said,  "  I  wish  you  to  go  with  me  to  B to  aid  me 

in  procuring  the  libert}"  of  my  sister  from  her  tyrannical 
captivity."  Arriving  at  the  asylum,  Mr.  Shields  was  in 
troduced  to  Dr.  S ,  the  principal  physician,  as  Mrs. 

H 's  onby  brother.  On  his  inquiring  after  the  health 

of  his  sister,  the  doctor  said  he  did  not  see  but  she  was 
as  rational  as  an}"  person  he  ever  saw.  Mr.  Shields  said, 
"Doctor,  I  wish  to  see  her  at  once."  The  doctor  said, 
"  It  may  be  too  much  for  her,  and  bring  on  a  relapse." 
Mr.  Shields  said  he  had  no  fears  for  the  result.  The 

doctor  then  said  Mr.  H ,  her  husband,  did  not  wish  him 

to  allow  an}"  person  to  see  her  without  his  written  permis 
sion.  Mr.  Shields  then  said,  "  Doctor,  I  shall  not  ask 
the  permission  of  a  hypocrite  or  thief  to  see  my  own 
dear  sister,  that  he  has  deceived,  insulted,  and  abused. 
Doctor,  you  will  lead  me  to  her  at  once,  or  order  some 
other  person  to  show  me  to  her  room." 

The  doctor,  on  hearing  these  statements,  immediately 
went  with  him.  The  moment  the  door  opened,  and  she 
saw  her  brother,  she  exclaimed,  "Dear  Saviour,  I  ex 
pected  an  answer  to  my  prayers;"  and  then,  throwing 
her  arms  around  her  brother's  neck,  she  wept  like  a  child, 
and  seemed  unwilling  to  leave  him  for  a  single  moment. 
Finally,  after  her  outburst  of  joy,  she  said,  "You  have 
come  to  take  me  away,  and  to  save  me  from  future  cruel 
ties  from  my  husband."  Her  brother  merely  said,  "  We 
will  not  discuss  that  matter  now.  I  will  take  care  of  you, 
and  take  care  of  your  husband  too."  She  gathered  up 

her  things,  entered  the  carriage,  rode  back  to  G ,  and 

drove  right  to  the  parsonage,  where  they  were  received 
with  the  warmest  affection. 

Mr.  Shields  then  said,  "I  have  already  been  detained 
from  my  business  longer  than  I  expected ;  but  I  have  a 


THE   SHIP   "MARY   ALICE."  23 

little  more  business  to  do  before  I  leave,  and  shall  begin 
right  now."  Turning  to  his  sister,  he  said,  "  Do  you  not 
wish  to  be  divorced  from  your  husband?  "  She  answered, 
"Yes,  I  do.  Though  I  do  not  believe  in  divorces  as  a 
general  thing,  I  think  my  circumstances  will  justify  it." 

Mr.  Shields  found  no  difficulty  in  procuring  her  divorce, 
with  such  testimony  as  that  of  Rev.  Mr.  Merritt,  widow 
B ,  Mr.  D ,  and  their  family  physician.  The  hus 
band  was  called  to  show  any  reasons  why  the  divorce 
should  not  be  made ;  but  his  guilt  prevented  him  from 
putting  in  an  appearance  at  the  trial ;  and  the  divorce  was 
granted.  Mr.  Shields  then  went  to  his  old  home,  and 

showed  Mr.  H the  divorce-papers,  and  told  him  that 

he  did  not  wish  to  have  any  trouble  with  him,  that  he 
would  give  him  twenty-four  hours  to  gather  together 
whatever  property  was  really  his  own,  and  leave  the 
place,  or  he  would  sue  him  for  gambling  away  the  prop 
erty  of  her  who  once  was  his  wife,  but  never  would  be 

again.     Mr.  H asked  Mr.  Shields  if  he  could  not  be 

permitted  to  see  Mrs.  H for  a  few  moments  before 

he  left;  and  he  told  him,  "Never!  She  has  suffered 
enough  from  you  already,  and  she  never  wishes  to  see 
you  again."  The  next  day  Mr.  Shields  hired  the  farm 
to  a  young  farmer  just  married.  He  did  not  think  it 
prudent  for  his  sister  to  live  there  alone ;  and  she  re 
mained  at  Mr.  Merritt' s,  their  pastor,  her  brother  being 
responsible  for  her  board. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ME.  SHIELDS  having  finished  up  all  his  business, 
and  placed  his  sister  in  a  respectable   Christian 

home,  returned  to  B ,  where  he  found  the  ship  all 

loaded,  and  ready  for  sea.     Capt.  B informed  Mr. 

Shields  that  Mr.  L ,  his  owner,  and  his  only  child  and 

daughter  Alice,  would  take  passage  with  them  to  Liver 
pool,  and  then  they  were  going  on  a  Continental  tour. 

Mr.  L was  a  very  wealthy  man  :  he  had  lost  his  very 

amiable  wife  about  one  year  before,  and  he  had  not  felt 
like  doing  business  since,  and  thought  that  rest  and  travel 
would  be  an  advantage  to  himself  and  daughter. 

ThejT  sailed  in  May,  1851.  On  the  second  day  after 
sailing,  the  wind  from  the  eastward,  with  a  heavy  head- 
beat  sea,  and  the  ship  under  double-reefed  topsails, 
not  making  over  three  miles  per  hour,  Miss  Alice  came 
out  upon  deck,  walked  to  the  lee-side,  near  where  Mr. 
Shields  was  standing,  very  sea-sick  indeed,  and  her  father 
had  told  her  she  would  feel  better  upon  deck.  She  began 
vomiting  over  the  side  of  the  ship  ;  and  the  ship  suddenly 
gave  what  sailors  call  a  heavy  lurch  and  a  deep  roll  at  the 
same  time.  Alice,  losing  her  foothold,  was  in  a  moment 
plunged  head-foremost  into  the  sea.  Mr.  Shields  sent 
an  order  from  his  iron  lungs  that  was  heard  by  all  below 
as  well  as  all  upon  deck:  "Throw  the  main  and  mizzen 
topsails  aback  !  "  And  he  seized  the  end  of  a  long  coil 
of  rope,  and  then  leaped  into  the  sea,  and,  seizing  the 
affrighted  girl,  said,  "Do  not  fear:  I  will  save  you." 
In  a  few  moments  the  men  pulled  them  both  alongside  ; 
and  in  a  few  moments  more  both  were  safely  landed  upon 
deck.  The  young  lady  was  carried  into  the  cabin ; 
and  dry  clothes  and  an  hour's  rest  fully  restored  her,  and 
cured  her  sea-sickness.  She  went  to  Mr.  Shields,  and 
presented  him  with  a  large,  beautiful  gold  locket,  with 


THE   SHIP   "  MARY  ALICE."  25 

the  following  accompanying  note  :  "  Mr.  Shields,  my  dear 
sir,  please  accept  this,  locket  at  the  hand  of  the  donor, 
not  as  payment  for  saving  my  life,  but  as  a  token  of  my 
esteem  for  such  daring,  unparalleled  bravery.  Perhaps, 
if  life  is  spared,  a  more  satisfactory  sacrifice  may  be  made 
at  some  future  day.  From  your  loving  friend,  with  ever 
grateful  remembrance,  Alice  L." 

Mr.  Shields  was  much  affected  with  the  gift  and  the 
note,  and  said,  in  reply,  that  he  onl}"  did  his  duty,  while 
he  felt  very  grateful  for  the  gift  she  had  bestowed.  He 
put  them  both  away  together.  At  the  time,  he  did  not 
even  open  the  locket  to  see  its  contents. 

Mr.  L ,  her  father,  said  to  Mr.  Shields,  "  You  have 

saved  the  life  of  ray  only  child  ;  and  my  gratitude  I  never 
can  express  to  }TOU  in  language,  and  shall  not  attempt  it. 
But  rest  assured,  my  dear  sir,  that  you  have  bound  obliga 
tions  upon  me  that  this  life  will  not  be  long  enough  to 
discharge.  You  will  ever  be  held  by  my  daughter  and 
myself  in  grateful  remembrance."  Mr.  Shields  said  in 

reply,  "Mr.  L ,  please  receive  my  sincere  thanks  for 

3'our  gratitude  and  good  wishes  ;  but,  sir,  I  should  have 
made  the  attempt  to  save  your  daughter  Alice  if  I  had 
known  my  own  life  would  be  forfeited  to  save  hers." 
Almost  every  pleasant  evening  during  their  passage  to 
Liverpool  was  Mr.  Shields  seen  walking  the  quarter 
deck,  with  the  trusting  Alice  hanging  upon  his  strong 
arm.  This  mutual,  trusting  confidence  was  witnessed  by 

her  father  with  evident  delight.  He  had  told  Capt.  B 

that  he  hoped  that  Alice  would  press  her  suit ;  for  it 
would  be  the  proudest  moment  of  his  life  to  give  his  Alice 
into  the  keeping  of  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Shields.  Capt. 

B said  he  had  been  with  him,  from  a  green  hand  right 

from  the  country,  up  to  this  time,  and  a  more  noble  speci 
men  of  manhood  he  had  never  seen ;  and,  if  he  had  a 
marriageable  daughter,  he  had  never  seen  a  man  to  whom 
he  would  so  soon  confide  her  as  to  Mr.  Shields  for  a  hus 
band. 

They  arrived  safely  in  Liverpool ;  and  Alice  and  her 
father,  after  an  affectionate  leave-taking,  took  the  train 
for  London.  They  remained  only  one  week  in  London, 
and  then  left  for  Paris ;  but,  before  leaving,  Alice  wrote 


26  THE   SHIP    "MAKY  ALICE." 

to  Mr.  Shields.  As  we  did  not  see  that  letter,  we  shall 
not  attempt  to  describe  its  contents. 

Before  he  sailed,  Mr.  Shields  received  a  letter  from  his 
sister  Mary,  announcing  the  death  of  his  pastor's  wife. 
Mary  said  she  took  care  of  her  while  she  was  sick,  and 
that  she  died  as  she  had  lived,  in  triumphant  faith  and 
love :  her  end  was  peace  and  joy.  Mr.  Merritt  had  re 
quested  her  to  remain,  and  keep  his  house,  and  take 
care  of  his  on!}-  little  son  but  two  years  of  age,  and  she 
had  consented  so  to  do  ;  and,  instead  of  having  to  pay 
her  board,  she  could  earn  something  for  herself. 

After  discharging  their  cargo,  and  taking  in  another, 
they  sailed  for  New  York,  where  they  arrived  safety  in 
September,  1851.  Mr.  Shields  spent  one  week  only  with 
his  sister,  and  returned  to  New  York,  where  he  found  a 

letter  awaiting  him  from  Alice  L .  She  and  her  father 

were  then  in  Rome.  He  immediately  replied  to  her  letter, 
directing  it  to  Naples,  according  to  her  direction.  The 
ship  was  soon  laden  with  her  cargo,  bound  to  Rio  Janeiro. 
Mr.  Shields  felt  somewhat  disappointed.  He  had  hoped 
they  would  go  to  some  part  of  Europe,  that  he  might  be 
nearer  to  the  idol  of  his  affections.  They  sailed  in  No 
vember,  1851,  arriving  safely  there  early  in  January,  1852. 
Just  before  they  sailed  for  New  York,  he  received  a  letter 
from  Alice's  father,  saying  that  Alice's  health  was  so 
poor,  he  thought  it  best  to  return  home,  that  she  might 
have  more  suitable  medical  advice,  and  said  he  hoped  to 

be  in  B by  the  first  of  April.  They  were  so  soon  to 

leave,  that  Mr.  Shields  could  not  reply  to  this  letter,  but 
hoped  all  would  be  well.  He  sailed  for  New  York  the 
first  of  Februaiy,  1852.  All  prospered  well,  and  Mr. 
Shields  thought  they  should  have  a  short  passage  home. 
But  in  crossing  the  Gulf  Stream,  not  far  from  Cape  Hat- 
teras,  they  suddenly  encountered  a  terrible  thunder- storm  ; 
and  about  midnight  they  experienced  a  tremendous  crash 
of  thunder  and  lightning,  which  threw  every  man  upon 
deck.  When  the  terrible  crash  subsided,  they  found 
their  mainmast  and  mizzenmast  both  gone,  having  been 
carried  away  by  the  lightning  (which  struck  them),  and 
shivered  into  a  hundred  pieces.  No  man,  however,  was 
killed  ;  but  all  the  watch  upon  deck  had  been  so  stunned 


THE   SHIP   "MAEY  ALICE."  27 

by  the  stroke,  that  several  hours  elapsed  before  they  were 
restored  to  consciousness.  Mr.  Shields  was  below  at  the 
time  the  lightning  struck  the  ship,  but  was  upon  deck 
with  Capt.  B in  a  moment  afterwards. 

They  could  do  but  little  towards  clearing  away  the 
wreck  of  broken  spars  and  rigging,  until  daylight  made 
its  appearance.  They  then  fitted  and  rigged  two  jury- 
masts  out  of  the  broken  spars,  and  put  all  the  sail  upon 
them  they  could,  and  stood  in  for  the  land.  When  in 
sight  of  Cape  Henry,  they  signalized  a  steamer,  which 
took  them  in  tow,  and  towed  them  into  New  York,  where 
they  arrived  safely  after  a  passage  of  seventy-four  days. 

Mr.  Shields  found  a  letter  for  him  from  Mr.  L , 

wishing  him  to  come  to  B immediate!}'  on  his  arrival. 

He  showed  his  letter  to  Capt.  B ,  who  released  him, 

and  bade  him  go  at  once.  He  immediately  left  for  B , 

where  he  arrived  the  next  morning,  and  repaired  at  once 

to  Mr.  L 's  house.  The  servant  ushered  him  into  the 

parlor,  and  went  to  announce  the  name  of  the  guest. 

Mr.  L gave  Mr.  Shields  a  very  cordial  greeting,  and 

said  their  physician  had  forbidden  any  person,  except  the 
father  and  nurse,  seeing  Alice.  Mr.  Shields  replied  by 
sa}'ing,  "This  quarantine  will  be  prett}r  hard  for  me  to 
bear.  I  do  not  wish  nor  intend  to  break  through  }Tour 
physician's  regulations  ;  but  I  think  my  presence  will  do 
more  for  Alice's  recovery  than  all  the  ph}rsicians  in 
B .  I  come  to  this  conclusion  by  the  last  letter  I  re 
ceived  from  her." 

While  they  were  talking,  the  doctor  came  in.  Mr. 
Shields  was  introduced,  and  he  at  once  stated  to  him 
his  convictions  ;  and  it  was  thought  best,  finally,  that  Mr. 
Shields  should  be  permitted  to  enter  the  sick-room.  As 
soon  as  he  stood  inside  of  her  room,  and  she  saw  him, 
she  exclaimed,  "  My  ever  dear  Johnny!  You  saved  my 
life  once  before,  arid  now  you  have  come  to  save  me  a  sec 
ond  time. ' '  She  called  him  to  her  bedside,  threw  her  arms 
around  his  neck,  and  held  him  for  some  moments  in  her 
embrace.  She  then  said,  "Dear  father,  do  not  let  my 
Johnny  ever  leave  me  again."  Suffice  it  to  sa}T,  that  Alice 
began  to  grow  stronger  every  day  ;  but  she  could  not  bear 
that  he  should  be  out  of  her  room  hardly  a  moment,  fear- 


28  THE   SHIP   "MARY   ALICE." 

ing  he  would  again  go  to  sea  without  her.  Alice  made 
rapid  strides  in  recovering  from  her  sickness  after  Mr. 
Shields' s  return  ;  and  by  the  middle  of  Ma}7  she  had  so  far 
recovered  as  to  ride  out  with  the  dear  sailor,  as  she  some 
times  called  him  who  had  jeopardized  his  own  life  to  save 
hers.  She  said  to  him  that  she  thought  the  beautiful 
month  of  June,  when  mountain,  hill,  plain,  and  valley 
were  all  clothed  with  their  garniture  of  summer  beauty 
and  flowers,  was  the  most  fitting  time  for  their  marriage. 
Mr.  Shields  said  he  had  no  objections  ;  but  he  wished  to 
visit  his  sister,  and  bring  her  back  with  him  to  witness  the 
marriage-ceremony.  Alice  not  only  gave  her  consent,  but 
was  very  anxious  to  meet  her  who  was  so  soon  to  be  her 
sister.  She  remarked  to  Mr.  Shields,  "  If  she  is  only 
one-half  as  good  as  you,  I  think  I  shall  love  her  almost  as 
much  as  I  do  you,  for  I  never  had  a  sister." 

The  next  morning  Mr.  Shields  left  B for  G ; 

and  the  meeting  of  brother  and  sister  was  like  that  of 
days  and  }'ears  gone  by.  Mr.  Shields  soon  made  known 
the  principal  object  of  his  visit ;  and  he  noticed  that  Mary 
seemed  somewhat  confused  and  embarrassed,  and  he 
could  not  seem  to  understand  the  cause.  But  she  soon 
said,  "  My  dear  brother,  as  I  have  never  kept  any  secrets 
from  }TOU,  I  will  not  now.  Mr.  Merritt,  for  whom  I  have 
kept  house  since  the  death  of  his  wife,  has  made  proposals 
to  me  to  become  his  wife,  and  I  have  not  }'et  assented ; 
and  I  am  so  glad  you  have  come,  that  I  ma}'  have  }'our 
counsel  and  advice  in  the  matter."  Her  brother  said  he 
knew  of  no  reason  why  she  should  not  accept  his  offer  at 
once.  "  If  }-ou  will  accept  his  proposal,  I  should  like  to 
have  a  hand  in  the  arrangement." 

Mary  at  once  accepted  the  Rev.  Mr.  Merritt' s  proposal ; 
and  her  brother  then  said  to  Mr.  Merritt,  "You  need 
some  relaxation  from  }'our  labors  ;  and  I  now  propose  that 

you  and  Mary  go  with  me  to  B ,  and  that  we  both  be 

married  at  the  same  time.  I  know  it  will  be  very  gratify 
ing  to  my  dear  Alice  and  to  her  father  likewise."  They 
both  cheerfully  complied  with  their  brother's  wishes.  Mr. 
Shields  then  wrote  to  Alice,  stating  the  whole  matter  to 
her,  which  filled  her  soul,  as  it  were,  with  ecstatic  joy. 

Two  days  after,  Mr.  Merritt,  with  Mary  and  the  little 


THE   SHIP   "MAKY   ALICE."  29 

boy,  who  hud  for  some  time  been  calling  her  mother,  with 

Mr.  Shields,  left  for  B .     The  object  of  the  pastor's 

absence  was  known,  and  approved  by  all  the  members  of 
his  church  that  knew  about  it. 

They  all  arrived   safely  in   B ,  and  were  received 

with  that  open,  frank  cordiality  which  ever  characterizes 

the  wealthy  merchants  of  B .  Alice  fell  in  love  with 

Maiy  at  first  sight ;  and  Mar}*  gave  her  such  a  warm,  cordial, 
sisterly  embrace,  that  one  would  have  thought  they  were 
old  friends,  instead  of  meeting  each  other  for  the  first 
time.  Mr.  Merritt  won  the  love  of  all  hearts  by  his  love, 
and  kind  Christian  spirit,  which  were  so  distinctly  seen 
by  all  present.  As  the  hour  for  retiring  drew  near,  Mr. 
Merritt  said  to  Mr.  L ,  "I  have  for  j-ears  been  ac 
customed  to  maintain  daily  worship  in  my  famil}'  at 
home,  and,  when  abroad  among  strangers,  to  ask  their  per 
mission  and  ask  them  to  join  with  me  if  they  wish."  Mr. 
L at  once  said,  "  We  all  believe  in  the  powerful  effi 
cacy  of  prayer,  and  shall  most  cordially  unite  with  you, 
not  in  form  only,  but,  I  trust,  with  all  our  hearts."  They 
all  knelt  together,  after  reading  the  Scriptures  ;  and  Mr. 
Merritt  poured  out  of  his  trusting  soul  a  petition  to  Jesus 
for  his  wisdom  to  guide  them  all  through  the  remnant  of 
their  earthty  pilgrimage.  Then  he  asked  God,  with  a 
trembling  voice,  to  bless  and  sanction  his  own  marriage 
to  his  beloved  Mary,  who  had  been  such  a  faithful  tower 
of  strength  to  him  in  his  late  bereavement ;  and  then  he 
fervently  pra}'ed  that  Mr.  Shields,  in  his  union  to  Alice, 
might  not  forget  the  necessity  of  his  more  important  union 
to  Jesus,  — that  an  indwelling  Jesus  alone  could  render 
the  conjugal  relation  a  peaceful,  prosperous,  and  happy  one. 
He  closed  by  reminding  him  of  his  dying  mother's  coun 
sel  to  him  when  a  mere  boy.  When  they  arose  from  their 
knees,  all  had  been  deeply  affected,  even  to  tears ;  and 
Mr.  Shields  was  evidently  much  affected.  He  who  could 
brave  old  ocean's  storms  amid  its  intensest  fury,  he  who 
could  plunge  into  the  ocean  to  save  another  from  drown 
ing,  did  not,  on  this  never-to-be-forgotten  evening,  forget 
the  words  of  his  dying  mother:  "  M\ y  prayers  will  be 
ansioered.  God  will  save  you,  my  dear  boy."  Never  in 
all  his  life  did  those  words  come  home  to  his  soul  with 
such  mighty  power. 


30  THE    SHIP    "MARY   ALICE." 

After  the  good-night  had  been  given  by  each,  the}*  all 
retired  to  seek  repose,  and  fit  them  for  the  duties  of  the 
expected  morrow.  Mr.  Shields  also  retired  to  his  room, 
but  not  until  he  had  sought  his  beloved  Alice  and  his 
sister  Mary,  and  besought  them  to  pray  for  him.  Neither 
Alice  nor  Mary  took  off  their  clothes  until  the  clock  had 
struck  the  third  hour  of  morning,  when  each  felt  and 
believed  their  prayers  had  been  answered,  because  all 
their  anxiety  for  the  one  they  loved  had  been  removed. 
They  then  both  went  to  bed,  and  slept  in  perfect  peace 
and  quietude  until  the  clock  striking  eight  awakened 
them  from  their  slumbers  ;  and  trusting  Mary  said  to 
Alice,  "This  will  be  the  happiest  morning  for  you  and 
me  that  we  have  ever  known."  Alice's  faith  was  not 
quite  as  strong  as  Mary's.  But  let  us  look  into  the 
sacred  enclosure  of  Mr.  Shields' s  room.  There  we  may 
see  him  on  his  knees,  with  his  open  Bible  in  the  chair 
where  he  knelt.  He  evidently  had  been  stud3'ing  the 
fifty-first  psalm  ;  and  he  found  his  case  to  be  like  that  of 
David.  There  he  read,  meditated,  and  prayed,  until 
the  light  broke  in  upon  his  mind,  and  he  felt  a  sweet 
peace  and  joy  he  had  never  known  before.  He  at  first 
hardly  dared  to  sleep,  fearing  he  should  not  feel  as  he  did 
before  he  lay  down  upon  his  bed  ;  but  he  soon  fell  asleep, 
and  dreamed  that  he  saw  his  mother  and  father  both 
rejoicing  over  his  salvation.  He  did  not  believe  much  in 
dreams,  and  never  spake  of  it  till  many  j-ears  afterwards. 

In  the  morning,  when  he  first  awoke,  he  felt  of  all  men 
on  earth  he  certainly  was  among  the  happiest,  if  not  the 
most  happ}'.  Mary  and  Alice  were  so  impatient,  they 
could  hardly  wait  his  appearance  in  the  drawing-room 
below.  They  soon  heard  him  coming,  and  they  both 
bounded  toward  him  with  that  trusting  love  which  did 
not  wait  for  any  expression  from  his  lips  ;  for  that  sweet, 
placid  smile  which  so  completely  overspread  his  manly 
face  told  the  stoiy  more  positively  than  a  thousand 
tongues.  He  finally  said,  "  I  understand  now  that  psalm 
which  sa}'S,  '  He  brought  me  up  also  out  of  a  horrible  pit, 
out  of  the  miry  cla}*,  and  set  my  feet  upon  a  rock,  and 
established  my  goings  ;  and  he  hath  put  a  new  song  in 
my  mouth,  even  praise  unto  our  God.  Many  shall  see  it 


THE   SHIP    "  MAEY   ALICE."  31 

and  fear,  and  shall  trust  in  the  Lord.'  That,  I  trust,  has 
been  my  experience  during  the  past  night."  Mr. 

L ,    and   his   former   pastor,   Mr.   Merritt,    rejoiced 

with  him  in  his  new-found  Saviour's  love.  As  soon  as 
the  breakfast  was  past,  a  hymn  was  sung,  accompanied 
by  the  organ  phiyed  by  Alice,  and  they  knelt  together. 
Mr.  Merritt  led  in  a  fervent  pra}rer  of  thanksgiving  to 
their  prayer-answering  Saviour  ;  and,  as  soon  as  he  had 
added  the  amen  to  his  petition,  Mr.  Shields  broke  out  in 
thanksgiving  to  Jesus,  who  had  taken  away  the  sins  of 
his  life,  and  given  him  an  assured  evidence  of  his  accept 
ance  through  Jesus  Christ. 

The  parlor  was  then  cleared  of  every  thing  movable 
but  the  large  sofa  and  organ  ;  and  the  few  invited  guests 
began  to  assemble  in  the  drawing-room.  The  two  sisters 
assisted  each  other  in  dressing  for  the  bridal  altar.  The 

only  invited  guests  were  Mr.  L 's  partner  in  business, 

Capt.  B ,  and  Mr.  L 's  sister  and  her  husband. 

Mr.  Merritt,  at  eleven  A.M.,  walked  into  the  parlor  with 
Mary  clinging  to  his  arm  ;  and  they  took  their  places 
according  to  their  mutual  arrangament  as  bride  and 
groom.  Mr.  Shields  and  Alice  followed  after  them,  fill 
ing  the  place  of  bride's  man  and  maid  until  they  were 
made  6ne  by  the  officiating  clergyman.  Then  they,  in 
turn,  took  the  same  places  that  had  been  filled  by  Mr. 
Shields  and  Alice,  who  were  soon  made  husband  and 
wife  ;  and  the  clergyman  playfully  remarked  that  Mrs. 
Shields  would  never  have  any  regret  in  confiding  herself 
to  the  love  and  care  of  a  man  who  had  jeopardized  his 
own  life  to  save  her  from  a  watery  grave.  Mr.  Shields 
replied  that  he  did  not  mean  she  ever  should  regret ;  and 
Alice  said  she  apprehended  no  danger  in  that  direction. 

After  the  wedding-lrymn  was  sung,  —  composed  for  the 
occasion,  and  which  will  be  found  on  the  last  page  of  this 
book,  —  they  repaired  to  the  dining-room,  where  a  costly 
meal  awaited  their  craving  appetites  ;  and,  after  supplying 
all  the  necessities  of  the  inner  man,  the  guests  all  retired, 
and  Mr.  Merritt  invited  Mr.  Shields  and  his  bride  to  re 
turn  with  them  to  their  country  home  in  Vermont.  Alice 
seemed  delighted  with  spending  a  few  days  with  her  dear 
sister  Mary.  There  were  but  three  years  difference  in 


32  THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE." 

their  ages  ;  Alice  being  three  years  3'ounger  than  Mary, 
and  but  one  year  younger  than  her  husband.  The  next 

morning  they  took  the  train  for  B .     On  their  way 

Mary  told  her  sister  she  must  not  expect  to  find  the 
quantity  and  the  quality  of  comforts  that  she  found  in  her 
father's  home.  Alice,  in  reply,  said,  "If  I  only  have 
your  society,  my  only  dear  sister,  it  is  enough.  Re 
member,  I  am  used  to  travelling ;  and,  instead  of  com 
plaining,  I  expect  to  receive  some  profitable  lessons  in 
housekeeping,  which  I  very  much  need.  At  noon,  or  soon 

after,  they  arrived  at  B ;    and  Alice  was  delighted 

with  all  the  scenery,  and  especially  the  rushing  stream  of 

the  old  Connecticut  River.     They  all  dined  at  B ,  and 

hired  a  private  conve}Tance  to  G ,  where  they  arrived 

about  four  P.M. 

Mary  very  soon  donned  her  working-dress,  and  went  to 
work  to  prepare  their  evening  meal.  As  soon  as  it  was 
found  that  their  pastor  had  come,  several  of  the  sisters  of 
the  church  came  to  Mary's  assistance.  Mary  introduced 
them  to  her  brother  and  sister,  and  Alice  was  delighted 
with  them.  Supper  was  soon  prepared  by  Mary  and  her 
efficient  helpers.  That  evening  was  their  weekly  prayer- 
meeting  night,  and  all  attended  the  meeting ;  and  it  was 
one  that  will  not  soon  be  forgotten  by  that  people. 
After  their  pastor  had  opened  the  meeting,  and  made  a 
few  brief  remarks,  Mr.  Shields  arose,  and  said,  "This  is 
the  first  regular  prayer-meeting  I  have  attended  for  several 
years.  I  have,  in  days  gone  by,  been  known  to  many 
that  I  see  here  to-night ;  but  I  arise  to  tell  you  I  am  but 
two  da}'s  old."  And  when  he  told  them  of  his  night's 
struggle  with  his  sins,  and  of  the  jo}*s  of  pardoned  sin, 
there  were  but  few  dry  eyes  in  that  assembly.  As  soon 
as  he  sat  down,  Alice  arose,  and  said,  "You  are  all 
strangers  to  me,  but  I  trust  not  to  my  Saviour,  who  has 
more  than  answered  my  prayers  and  my  dear  sister  Mary's. 
While  he  who  is  now  my  dear  husband  was  absent  on  his 
last  voyage,  my  love  could  not  seem  to  wait  for  his  re 
turn,  and  I  fell  into  a  state  of  despondency.  I  then  felt, 
if  his  life  could  only  be  spared,  and  I  could  see  him  once 
more,  for  which  I  most  earnestly  prayed,  that  I  should 
be  satisfied ;  and  God  has  not  only  answered  my  prayers 


THE   SHIP   "MARY   ALICE."  33 

in  returning  him  to  me,  but  answered  our  united  prayers 
for  his  salvation ;  so  that  to-night  I  believe  I  am  one  of 
the  happiest  women  upon  earth."  Mary  said  she  was 
enjoying  very  much  of  Jesus'  love,  and  rejoiced  with  her 
brother  in  his  new  relations  both  temporally  and  spirit 
ually.  Several  others  took  part  in  the  exercises  of  the 
hour.  The  pastor  then  closed  the  meeting  with  the  bene 
diction  ;  and,  after  a  general  introduction  and  hand-shak 
ing,  they  separated  for  their  respective  homes. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

.  SHIELDS  and  wife  spent  a  week  with  Mary  and 
her  husband.  The  following  sabbath  morn  was  in 
deed  beautiful :  mountain,  hill,  and  valley  were  dressed  in 
living  green  ;  and  the  wild  as  well  as  the  cultivated  flowers 
seemed  to  vie  with  the  trusting,  loving  hearts  which  were 
glowing  with  that  ardent  Christian  love  to  God  and  man 
which  makes  it  in  some  measure  resemble  heaven.  After 
the  morning  devotions  all  sought  their  rooms  to  seek  a 
preparation  of  heart  for  enjoying  the  services  of  the  sanc 
tuary.  Very  soon  the  church-bell  sent  its  gladdening 
tones  of  music  through  the  valle}*s,  calling  its  worshippers 
to  God's  temple  for  worship.  There  was  an  unusually 
large  congregation  present ;  for  their  loved  pastor  had 
been  absent,  and  each  one  longed  to  see  his  sweet  face 
again,  and  give  him  a  cordial  welcome  to  their  hearts. 
As  the  bell  was  striking  its  last  tolling  notes,  Mr.  Merritt 
entered,  with  his  newly-married  wife  upon  his  arm,  whom 
they  all  well  knew  and  tenderly  loved,  followed  by  Mr. 
Shields  and  his  wife.  The  whole  congregation  arose,  and 
remained  standing  till  the  party  were  seated,  as  a  token 
of  love  and  respect  for  their  pastor.  The  choir,  led  by 
the  organ,  then  sung  a  hymn  of  welcome.  Mr.  Merritt 
read  the  Scriptures,  and  offered  an  importunate  prayer 
for  divine  aid,  and  for  God's  blessing  upon  the  service  of 
the  hour. 

After  singing,  Mr.  Merritt  arose,  and  in  a  mild  but  clear 
voice  announced  his  text  in  Prov.  xi.  24  :  "  There  is  that 
scattereth,  and  yet  increaseth  ;  and  there  is  that  Avith- 
holdeth  more  than  is  meet,  but  it  tendeth  to  poverty." 
He  said  the  great  principle  found  in  the  text  was,  that 
every  thing  in  heaven  and  earth  and  in  the  sea  was  only 
increased  by  scattering.  "God,"  he  says,  "acts  upon 
this  principle :  God  scatters  light,  that  it  may  increase. 


THE   SHIP    "MARY   ALICE."  35 

God  scatters  love,  that  love  may  increase.  Every  flower, 
tree,  vine,  and  shrab,  all  scatter  their  seed  to  increase 
their  species.  And  you  as  farmers  know  how  hard  you 
have  to  labor  to  keep  the  pernicious  weeds  from  scattering 
their  poisonous  seed  upon  your  farms.  This  morning 
God  sends  us  all  to  these  varied  things,  to  learn  a  rich 
lesson,"  which  he  hoped  to  see  reduced  to  daily  practice. 
\\re  have  neither  time  nor  room  for  any  thing  more  than 
a  brief  synopsis  of  this  truly  excellent  practical  sermon. 
He  said  God  had,  at  an  infinite  expense,  provided  means 
for  breaking  up  and  cleansing  the  garden  of  the  human 
heart,  that  it  might  produce  a  rich  harvest  of  fruit  to  his 
glory,  and  then  scatter  the  seeds  of  holy  living  by  a 
consistent  Christian  example  at  all  times  and  in  all 
places.  He  then  spoke  of  the  mighty  power  of  our 
influence  over  the  minds  of  others.  He  then  said  the 
husband  and  father  have  influence  over  their  children  ; 
the  mother  and  wife  have  that  influence  ;  and  woe  betide 
the  mothers  of  this  generation  if  they  fail  to  scatter  Jesus' 
love  into  the  hearts  of  their  children !  Again  he  said, 
"  My  dear  hearers,  you  will  scatter  seed,  whether  you 
intend  it  or  not." 

We  wish  we  could  give  our  readers  the  whole  of  this 
sermon  ;  but  we  cannot  now.  Just  a  few  words  of  his 
explanation  of  the  latter  part  of  his  text :  "  And  there  is 
that  withholdeth  more  than  is  meet ;  but  it  tendeth  to  pov 
erty."  "  Is  there  a  parent  here  to-day,"  he  said,  "  that 
will  withhold  a  peaceful,  useful  life,  and  a  glorious  vic 
tor's  death,  and  an  unfading  crown  of  glory,  from  hus 
band,  wife,  child,  neighbor,  or  friend?  *  Do  you  not 
know,  that  by  withholding  your  prayers,  your  personal 
conversation  with  them  in  regard  to  their  salvation,  3-011 
will  impoverish  that  soul  forever?  Can  any  of  you  to-day 
measure  the  depth  of  that  poverty  which  will  overwhelm 
all  those  who  are  found  upon  the  left  hand  of  Jesus, 
the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead,  when  he  shall  come  the 
second  time  to  save,  acquit,  and  bless  all  those  who  love 
him,  and  to  punish  his  unbelieving  enemies?" 

He  then  closed  by  urging,  with  all  the  love  and  pathos 
of  his  own  burdened  soul,  the  vast  importance  of  using 
all  our  time,  talents,  money,  and  influence  in  scattering 


36  THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE." 

the  good  seed  which  Jesus  had  purchased  in  the  garden 
of  bloody  sweat  and  agony,  as  well  as  at  Calvary,  where 
he  bore  our  sins  in  his  own  bod}r  on  the  tree,  that  we, 
being  dead  to  sins,  should  live  unto  righteousness,  by 
whose  stripes  3*6  were  healed.  "  Dearly  beloved,  as  you 
go  from  this  temple  to-day,  take  with  you  for  your  encour 
agement  these  most  precious  promises  :  '  In  the  morning 
sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  tlry  hand  ; 
for  thou  knowest  not  which  will  prosper,  either  this  or 
that,  or  whether  the}'  shall  be  alike  good.  Blessed  are 
ye  that  sow  beside  all  waters.'  '  Sow  to  yourselves  in 
righteousness,  reap  in  mercy,  break  up  your  fallow 
ground  ;  for  it  is  time  to  seek  the  Lord  till  lie  come  and 
rain  righteousness  upon  you,  for  he  that  goeth  forth  and 
weepeth,  bearing  precious  seed,  shall  doubtless  return 
again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him.'  ' 
He  then,  in  a  few  well-chosen  words,  urged  the  impeni 
tent  sinner  that  moment  to  sow  to  the  Spirit,  that  he  might 
reap  everlasting  life  ;  and  he  then  repeated  the  last  warn 
ing  uttered  by  John  Baptist:  "  He  that  believeth  on  the 
Son  hath  everlasting  life  ;  and  he  that  believeth  not  the 
Son  shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on 
him."  The  Doxology  was  sung  by  the  whole  congrega 
tion  standing,  and  the  benediction  given ;  and  all  dis 
persed  to  meditate  upon  the  solemn,  impressive  truths  to 
which  they  had  listened. 

In  the  afternoon  he  gave  them  another  excellent  ser- 
*nou.  His  subject  was  the  power  of  the  living  Christian's 
example.  The  word  of  his  text  was,  "The  path  of  the 
just  is  as  the  'shining  light,  that  shineth  more  and  more 
until  the  perfect  day."  This,  like  his  morning  discourse, 
was  full  of  warning,  instruction,  entreaty,  and  comfort. 
In  the  evening  they  had  an  excellent  pi^er-meeting,  in 
which  Mr.  Shields  said  he  had  received  some  excellent 
instruction,  and  that  he  meant  to  reduce  it  to  daily  prac 
tice  during  the  rest  of  his  future  life.  "We  shall  see, 
ere  long,  how. well  he  carried  his  consistent  resolution  into 
practice. 

Mr.  Shields  and  his  wife  remained  a  few  more  days  at 
the  parsonage  with  their  brother  and  sister ;  and  little 
Georgie  cried  sadly  when  dear  aunt  Alice  and  uncle 


THE   SHIP   "MAKY  ALICE."  37 

John  came  to  leave  for  their  home.  They  both  were  very 
much  pleased  with  their  visit ;  and  on  Tuesday  one  of  the 

brethren  volunteered  his  services  to  carry  them  to  B , 

where  they  took  the  train  for  B .  Mr.  L was  not 

at  home  when  his  children  came ;  but  he  came  home 
shortly  afterwards,  and,  after  giving  them  a  loving 
father's  joyous  greeting,  said  it  seemed  to  him  as  though 
they  had  been  gone  a  month,  instead  of  only  a  single 
week.  After  tea  he  said,  "John,  I  have  to-day  con 
tracted  for  the  building  of  a  new  ship  for  you  in  Bath ; 
and  I  wish  you  to  go  there,  and  superintend  her  while 
building,  and  see  that  no  green  or  improper  timber  is 
put  into  her  frame."  He  replied  by  saying  he  would 
assume  the  responsibility  with  one  single  provision,  and 
that  was,  that  his  Alice  must  go  with  him.  His  father 
said,  "  I  expected  that,  of  course  ;  and,  when  I  gave  you 
my  dear  Alice,  it  was  a  life-lease  that  I  gave  you  of  her." 
Alice  said,  "  I  love  you,  my  dear  father  ;  but  I  could  not 
live  awa}^  from  my  idolized  Johnny."  Mr.  Shields  said, 
"  Do  not  say  that,  my  dear  Alice.  Remember  our  dear 
brother  Merritt's  advice,  that  all  our  love  in  this  world 
must  be  always  subordinated  to  the  claims  of  Jesus  our 
dear  Saviour."  —  "You  are  right,  as  you  always  are,  my 
dear  Johnny  ;  and  I  will  endeavor  to  speak  more  guarded 
m  the  future."  —  "That  is  right,  Alice  dear.  A  frank, 
open  confession  of  our  faults  will  do  us  good  ;  and  I  only 
hope  I  shall  always  be  as  ready  to  confess  my  own  faults 
as  you  have  now  been." 

Mr.  L said  it  would  not  be  necessary  for  them  to 

go  for  some  weeks  yet ;  for  they  had  not  yet  begun  to 
haul  the  timber  into  the  yard.  He  then  said  to  his  son, 

"  Capt.  B sailed  yesterday  for  Cronstadt,  Russia; 

and  Sir.  Bell,  who  was  }'our  second  mate,  has  gone  as  his 
first  officer."  Mr.  Shields  said  he  was  a  good,  practical 
seaman,  and  in  every  respect  a  worthy  man. 

He  then  said  to  his  father,  "  Did  you  know  that  Capt. 

B is  not  a  Christian  man?"  He  said,  "Yes.  I 

have  had  many  conversations  with  him  ;  but  he  always 
had  so  many  excuses,  that  I  could  never  make  any  per 
manent  impression  upon  his  mind."  Johnny  said,  "  Oh, 
if  I  could  only  have  seen  him  before  he  sailed !  I  think 


38  THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE." 

he  would  have  been  influenced  by  me  when  I  told  him  how 
I  found  Jesus,  or,  rather,  how  and  where  Jesus  found 
me."  Alice  playfully  said,  "Johnny  dear,  if  you  think 
you  can  have  such  power  over  men,  I  shall  begin  to  think 
you  had  better  leave  your  seafaring  life,  and  study  for  the 
ministry."  —  "  Well,  dear  Alice,  do  you  think  that  none 
but  ministers  can  scatter  the  golden  seed  of  gospel  truth  ? 
I  am  sure  I  never  shall  forget  the  pointed,  practical  truths 
embodied  in  that  sermon  which  our  dear  brother  Merritt 
preached  last  sabbath."  —  "  Neither  shall  I,  dear  Johnny. 
I  think  it  one  of  the  best  sermons  I  ever  heard.  He  has 
talents  and  ability  of  a  rare  character.  I  confess  I  was 
very  much  surprised." 

The  two  happy  children  spent  some  four  weeks  at 
home,  making  their  dear  father  as  happy  as  they  were 
themselves.  And,  when  they  had  all  packed  ready  for 
going,  their  father  said,  "  I  shall  expect  to  see  3*011  home 
ever}-  Saturday  night  to  spend  the  sabbath  with  me." 
They  went  immediately  to  Bath,  and  hired  suitable  rooms, 
where  they  could  be  alone  whenever  they  chose.  When 
Mr.  Shields  arrived,  he  gave  his  letter  of  introduction  to 
the  master-builder,  who,  after  reading  his  letter  of  instruc 
tions,  said,  "Then  you  have  come  to  show  me  how  to 
build  a  ship,  have  you?"  Mr.  Shields  said  that  was  not 
his  business  ;  but,  as  he  was  to  command  the  ship  when 
she  was  completed,  he  was  there  to  see  that  no  shoddy 
timber  was  put  into  her  frame  ;  that  he  knew  his  business, 
and  proposed  to  attend  to  it  in  the  interest  of  his  owner, 
whose  agent  he  was.  The  master-builder,  finding  that 
Capt.  Shields  was  not  to  be  easily  moved  from  his  pur 
pose,  ever  after  treated  him  with  respect  and  esteem. 

In  September,  the  time  of  launching  being  near,  a 
name  for  the  new  ship  was  to  be  considered  ;  and  Capt. 
Shields  wished  to  have  her  called  Alice,  after  his  wife. 
But  she  preferred  the  name  of  Mary  Alice ;  and  her 
father  and  husband  both  gave  way  to  Alice.  She  then 
said,  "Did  Mar}7  ever  see  a  ship  launched?"  And 
Johnny  said,  "The}'  neither  build  nor  launch  ships  in 
Vermont,  where  she  has  spent  her  life."  Alice  proposed 
that  she  and  her  husband  be  invited  to  come  and  with  her 
launch  in  their  new  and  future  home.  Accordingly  an 


THE   SHIP   "MARY   ALICE."  39 

invitation  was  sent ;  and,  as  neither  of  them  had  ever 
been  on  board  of  a  ship,  they  accepted  the  invitation. 

On  the  third  day  after,  they  arrived  in  B .     The  next 

day  being  the  highest  tide  at  twelve  M.,  she  was  to  be  set 
afloat  to  commence  her  life's  history ;  for  ships,  as  well  as 
men  and  women,  have  a  history. 

Alice  and  Mary  stood  upon  the  topgallant  forecastle  ; 
and,  as  the  last  shore  was  removed,  she  began  to  glide 
down  the  ways,  increasing  her  velocity  till  she  rolled  out 
large  volumes  of  smoke  from  her  ways.  As  she  touched 
the  water,  Alice  exclaimed  as  loud  as  she  could,  stand 
ing  beside  her  dear  sister  Mar}',  "  I  now  name  this  sea 
going  traveller  '  The  Mary  Alice '  of  B ."  She  glided 

for  the  first  time  into  what  was  to  be  her  future  element 
with  great  rapidity  and  safety. 

She  was  soon  hauled  in  to  the  wharf  to  receive  her 
masts,  rigging,  and  sails.  After  the  masts  were  put  into 

their  place,  Mr.  L thought  best  to  have  her  towed  by 

a  steamer  to  B to  complete  her  outfit :  so  he  might 

have  his  children  with  him  as  much  as  it  was  possible 
before  they  went  to  sea.  Mr.  Merritt  and  wife  remained, 

and  came  with  them  to  B in  the  new  ship.     They 

were  both  delighted  ;  neither  of  them  having  ever  been  on 
board  of  a  ship  or  upon  the  ocean  before.  They  arrived 

safely  in  B ,  being  only  one  night  upon  the  ocean. 

Mr.  Merritt  said  he  had  found  timber  enough  in  that  short 
voA'age  for  a  dozen  sermons. 

The  next  day  they  were  obliged  to  leave  for  their  moun 
tain  home,  which  they  did,  after  making  promises  of  writ 
ing,  &c.  Capt.  Shields  then  said,  "  My  dear  brother  and 
sister,  you  are  about  to  leave  us,  and  we  may  never  meet 
again  until  we  meet  with  Jesus  and  his  redeemed  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river  of  death.  Pray  for  '  The  Mar}r 
Alice,'  and  pray  for  me,  that  I  may  carry  into  execu 
tion  my  resolutions  which  were  the  outgrowth  of  your 
sermon  upon  scattering ;  for,  God  being  my  helper,  I 
mean  to  scatter  his  truth  during  the  remnant  of  my  daj-s, 
wherever  God  in  his  providence  may  cast  my  lot  in  life  ; 
for  I  never  can  be  forgetful  or  ungrateful  towards  that 
Saviour  who  plucked  me  as  a  brand  from  the  burning 
when  I  had  well-nigh  consumed  myself  by  my  own  guilty 
sins." 


40  THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE." 

The  good  wishes  and  good-bys  were  spoken,  and  they 
departed.  In  a  few  days  the  new  ship  "Mary  Alice" 
was  advertised  as  ready  for  freight,  and  would  take  a  few 
cabin-passengers  for  San  Francisco,  commanded  by  Capt. 
John  Shields.  Alice  had  engaged  for  a  maid  a  good 
Christian  girl,  by  the  name  of  Annie  Baker.  She  had 
been  engaged  as  a  sewing-girl.  She  came  from  Vermont ; 
but  more  of  her  will  be  seen  in  the  future.  On  the  1st 
of  November,  1854,  the  whole  number  on  board  was 
thirty-six,  consisting  of  the  captain,  his  wife  and  maid, 
three  mates,  cook,  steward  and  stewardess,  and  carpenter, 
and  twenty-two  men  before  the  mast.  They  experienced 
but  little  rough  weather.  The  first  night  after  sailing, 
Capt.  Shields  ordered  his  first  officer,  Mr.  Helm,  to  call 
all  hands  aft  upon  the  quarter-deck.  He  then  said  to 
them,  "  I  am  a  Christian  man,  and  1113*  wife  is  a  Christian 
woman  ;  and  at  four  bells  (six  P.M.)  I  expect  all  hands  — 
except  the  officer  of  the  deck,  the  man  at  the  wheel,  and 
the  man  at  the  lookout  —  to  come  aft  into  the  house  to 
attend  our  daily  prayer-meeting.  We  all  have  souls,  and 
but  one  short,  uncertain  life  to  secure  their  salvation  in. 
Men,  obey  your  officers,  do  your  duty  faithfully,  and  }*ou 
will  find  in  me  a  constant  friend  that  will  do  every  thing 
to  contribute  to  your  comfort.  You  may  all  now  go  for 
ward  to  your  duties." 

Although  the  passengers  were  sick  at  first,  the  next 
day,  at  four  bells  (six  o'clock),  all  came  aft,  but  one 
gentleman  and  his  wife,  who  remained  outside  upon  deck. 
Alice  began  singing,  "Guide  me,  O  thou  great  Jeho 
vah  ! "  The  first  officer  had  charge  of  the  deck.  The 
second  and  third  officers  proved  to  be  excellent  singers  ; 
and  some  four  or  five  of  the  men  could  sing  nicely. 
After  singing,  Capt.  Shields  read  a  portion  of  Scripture, 
and  then  said,  "  I  do  not  command  3-011  to  kneel  with  me  ; 
but  it  would  be  very  pleasing  to  me  if  you  would  all  kneel 
before  the  Lord  our  Maker."  In  a  moment  every  one  of 
them  was  upon  their  knees  :  Capt.  Shields  then  poured  out 
his  full  soul  to  God  for  his  guidance  and  protection,  and 
praj-ed  earnestly  that  he  would  convert  and  save  all  on 
board.  The  amen  was  no  sooner  uttered  than  the  gentle 
man  passenger,  Mr.  G ,  prayed  most  fervently;  and, 


THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE."  41 

when  he  had  done,  an  old  tar  by  the  name  of  Jack  said, 
"  Capt.  Shields,  may  I  pray,  sir?"  The  captain  said, 
"  Yes,  pray  on."  And  Jack  Carter  offered  such  a  prayer 
that  all  hearts  were  melted,  and  Alice  wept  like  a  child. 
The  hour  having  expired,  he  said,  "Men,  you  will  all  be 
better  fitted  for  this  season  of  prayer."  Jack  Carter  said 
Jesus  had  been  his  Saviour  for  many  years,  and  he  was 
glad  to  get  on  board  of  a  ship  where  Jesus'  claims  were 
respected. 

The  gentleman  apologized  to  Capt.  Shields  at  the 
breakfast-table  next  morning,  saying  that  he  and  his  wife 

were    both   members  of  a  Methodist  church  in  L ; 

but  their  religion  at  the  present  seemed  to  be  nothing  but 
a  mere  form,  and  hoped  he  would  remember  them  in  their 
prayers.  This  they  all  promised  to  do.  Alice,  having 
received  a  splendid  musical  education,  suggested  she 
should  like  very  much  to  teach  or  give  any  lessons  in 
singing  to  any  that  wished  to  learn  ;  and  both  of  the 
gentlemen  and  their  wives  said  they  loved  singing,  but 
they  knew  nothing  about  the  notes,  or  rules  of  singing. 
So  ever}-  pleasant  day —  and  they  had  man}T  of  them  while 
passing  between  the  tropics  —  Alice  would  gather  her  club 
on  deck  when  it  was  pleasant,  at  other  times  in  the  house, 
or  cabin. 

With  fair  winds  "  The  Mary  Alice  "  was  making  rapid 
progress.  Mr.  Helm,  the  first  officer,  said  he  never  had 
seen  a  ship  before  that  could  run  off  ten  knots  from  the 
reel  on  a  bowline  ;  and  this  "  The  Mary  Alice  "  had  done 
during  the  last  twenty-four  hours.  Alice  and  the  passen 
gers  all  said  they  had  never  seen  an}*  thing  in  their  lives 
that  equalled  the  magnificent  beauty  of  the  tropical  sun 
sets.  Their  beauty  cannot  be  described  :  they  must  be 
seen  in  order  to  be  appreciated. 

One  day  a  large  shoal  of  porpoises  came  pitching  and 
playing  round  the  bows  of  their  ship.  The  second  mate 
plunged  a  harpoon  into  one  of  them,  and  in  a  few  mo 
ments  it  was  upon  deck,  bleeding  from  the  wound  made 
by  the  harpoon.  The  blubber,  which  covers  their  entire 
bodies,  was  soon  stripped  off;  and  the  meat,  which  re 
sembles  venison,  was  hung  up  in  long  strips  to  dry  it 
upon  the  outside.  By  so  doing  it  may  be  preserved  for 


42  THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE." 

man}-  days.  But  the  meat  of  a  single  porpoise,  al 
though  it  weighed  a  hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  would 
not  furnish  man}*  meals  for  thirty  people. 

The  sabbath  broke  in  upon  them  with  all  its  tropical 
splendor  ;  and  Capt.  Shields  gave  orders  for  every  man  to 
don  his  best  suit,  and  all  work  to  be  suspended,  and  at 
four  bells  (ten  A.M.)  all  hands  to  come  aft,  upon  the 
quarter-deck,  for  their  sabbath-morning  worship.  At  the 
appointed  hour  every  man  put  in  his  appearance  accord 
ing  to  orders  ;  and  all  that  could  sing  meeting  together 
under  Alice's  training,  had  become  a  very  efficient  choir. 
Capt.  Shields  read  that  beautiful  old  hymn,  "  Thus  far  the 
Lord  hath  led  me  on,"  &c.  Ten  of  them  could  sing; 
and  Alice  said,  "We  will  sing  'Old  Hundred.''  When 
those  ten  voices  unitedly  pealed  forth  those  precious 
words,  ever}*  heart  was  so  much  affected  as  to  moisten 
the  eyes  of  all  present.  After  singing,  Capt.  Shields  said, 
"  Let  us  unitedly  ask  God's  blessing  upon  this  morning 
hour  of  worship  ;  and  as  he  knelt  even*  other  knee  bent, 
some  of  them,  doubtless,  out  of  respect  to  their  com 
mander,  and  others  out  of  love  and  respect  to  Jesus,  who 
had  saved  them  from  their  guilty  sins.  Capt.  Shields 
loved  to  pray  ;  and  this  morning  he  seemed  to  be  exercised 
with  the  crushing  weight  of  responsibility  which  rested 
upon  him.  While  he  confessed  his  own  unworthiness  and 
weakness,  yet  in  his  prayer  you  could  see  childlike  and 
implicit  trust  in  Jesus  for  all  that  he  asked.  He  most 
fervently  prayed  God  to  save  all  the  sons  of  the  ocean  ; 
but  in  an  especial  manner  did  he  plead  with  his  heavenly 
Father  to  lead  to  Jesus,  and  save,  every  member  of  his 
ship's  company.  After  prayer  he  read  and  explained, 
with  all  the  ability  God  had  given  him,  the  parable  of  the 
"  prodigal  son."  He  related  his  own  personal  experience 
in  connection  with  his  remarks  ;  and  when  he  told  of  his 
midnight  struggles  with  his  own  guilt}*  sins,  and  of  his 
wife  and  sister  spending  almost  a  whole  night  in  prayer 
to  God  for  his  salvation,  several  of  his  sailors  sobbed 
aloud,  and  every  heart  was,  for  the  time  at  least,  melted 
and  subdued.  Several  others  spoke  of  the  love  they  had 
for  Jesus,  with  the  reasons  why  they  loved  him.  They 
sang  a  few  more  hymns,  and  were  dismissed. 


THE  SHIP   "MARY  ALICE."  43 

A  few  moments  only  had  elapsed  when  the  man  on  the 
lookout  exclaimed,  "  Sail  ho  !  "  —  "  Where  away?  "  was 
the  inquiry  of  the  officer  on  watch.  "  Two  points  oft 
the  lee-bow,  sir."  A  report  was  made  to  Capt.  Shields, 
and  he  ordered  his  ship  kept  off  two  points  to  intercept 
the  strange  ship.  In  less  than  an  hour  the  stranger  hauled 
up  his  courses,  and  backed  his  maintopsail,  waiting  the  ap 
proach  of  "  The  Mary  Alice."  Capt.  Shields  ordered  the 
fore  and  main  courses  hauled  up,  topgallant-sails  clewed 
down,  and,  trumpet  in  hand,  exclaimed,  "What  ship  is 
that,  pray?"  The  stranger  replied,  "  'The  Comet,'  from 

Rio  Janeiro,  bound  for  New  York  ;  J.  W master." 

The  stranger  then  asked,  "  What  ship  is  that  ?  "     And  the 

captain  replied,  "  'The  Mary  Alice'  of  B ;  eighteen 

days  out ;  bound  to  San  Francisco  ;  commanded  by  John 
Shields.  I  wish  you  to  report  all  well  on  board  on  your 
arrival."  The  trumpet  of  the  stranger  was  waved  only 
in  reply.  All  sail  was  again  crowded  upon  "The  Mary 
Alice,"  and  she  was  soon  moving  through  the  watery 
element  with  majestic  grandeur  and  rapidity. 

That  night  in  their  meeting,  one  of  the  men,  by  the 
name  of  Bill  Swan,  said,  "  I  want  to  be  a  Christian  man, 
like  Jack  Carter  and  my  captain  ;  and  I  wonder  if  any 
body  on  board  loves  my  poor  soul  enough  to  pray  for  me 
as  our  captain's  wife  had  praj-ed  for  him."  Alice  arose 
amid  her  tears,  and  said,  "  One  soul  is  just  as  precious  in 
Jesus'  sight  as  another."  And  she  told  him,  if  he  would 
pray  for  himself  till  Jesus  forgave  his  sins,  as  his  captain 
had  done,  she  would  pra}*  all  night  for  his  salvation.  He 
replied,  saying  he  would  ;  for  he  felt  that  he  was  one 
of  the  greatest  sinners  upon  the  ocean.  Annie,  Alice's 
maid,  said  she  would  pray  with  her  mistress  for  him  too ; 
and  then  the  two  lady-passengers  said  they  would  join 
with  them. 

At  one  o'clock  A.M.  Bill  Swan  came  to  the  second 
mate,  who  was  officer  of  the  watch,  and  said,  "  1  wish  you 
would  tell  the  captain's  wife  she  need  not  pray  any  more 
for  me  ;  for  about  half  an  hour  ago  there  was  such  a  load 
tumbled  off  of  my  soul,  that  I  know  something  has  been 
done,  and  if  it  ain't  religion,  sir,  I  would  just  like  to 
know  what  you  call  it."  —  "  Well,  Bill,  my  good  fellow, 


44  THE   SHIP   "MABY  ALICE." 

I  can't  tell  3*011,  for  I  know  as  little  about  religion  as  the 
mainmast ;  but  I  will  tell  the  captain's  wife's  maid."  In 
a  few  moments  Bill  was  called  into  the  cabin,  and  Alice 
said,  "Bill,  now  tell  me  all  about  it."  And  Bill  said, 
"  You  know,  ma'am,  that  I  did  not  go  into  the  forecastle 
at  all,  but  I  just  crept  in  under  the  topgallant  forecastle, 
and  there  I  just  told  Jesus  what  a  big  sinner  I  had  been, 
and  told  him  I  wanted  him  to  take  away  that  load.  For 
you  know,  ma'am,  gver  since  that  first  meeting  I  could 
not  sleep  in  my  watch  below  ;  and  I  said,  says  I,  '  What 
is  the  matter  that  I  cannot  sleep?'  And  then  every 
thing  I  ever  did  in  all  my  life  came  right  up  before  me, 
ma'am ;  and  I  said,  says  I  to  myself,  ma'am,  3*011  know, 
for  I  did  not  s&y  any  thing  to  m3*  shipmates  about  it, 
'What  ails  me?'  And  then,  ma'am,  don't  3*ou  know 
my  old  mother,  that  I  run  awa3r  from  fifteen  j-ears  ago, 
seemed  to  sa3*,  'Bill,  3*ou  will  be  soriy  for  this.'  And 
I  tell  3*ou,  ma'am,  I  was  sorry.  And  right  while  I  was 
pra3*ing,  ma'am,  there  fell  off  from  me  a  load  of  something 
like  a  man's  falling  from  the  maintop  on  deck.  And  I 
asked  the  second  mate  what  he  thought  it  was,  if  it  was 
not  religion  ;  and  he  said  he  did  not  know  an3*  more  about 
religion  than  the  mainmast.  And,  ma'am,  I  feel  better, 
now  I  have  told  3*ou  about  it ;  and  I  think,  ma'am,  that 
your  prayers  have  been  answered,  for  I  never  felt  so  as 
I  do  now,  ma'am,  in  all  my  life."  And  the  great  briii3T 
tears  rolled  down  his  weather-beaten  face  during  the 
recital  of  what  he  had  experienced.  Alice  told  him  she 
thought  he  could  sleep  now ;  and  he  went  forward,  sing 
ing  as  he  went, — 

"  Jesus  loves  me,  and  I  love  him : 

That  will  do,  that  will  do. 
He  set  me  free  from  all  my  sin, 
And  bid  me  go  to  work  for  him  : 

That  will  do,  that  will  do. 
In  my  whole  life,  never  before, 
Neither  at  sea,  nor  while  on  shore, 
Have  I  loved  him  whom  I  adore  : 

That  will  do,  that  will  do." 

His   shipmates   heard    him    singing ;    and    the3*   said, 
' '  What's  the  matter,  Bill  ?  Have  3*ou  found  a  fortune ? ' '• 
"Yes,"   sa3*s  Bill,   "I   have  got  my  pile   now;    and  I 


THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE."  45 

mean  to  make  this  old  forecastle  ring  with  praise  to 
Jesus." 

Joe  Windlass  said,  "  You  won't  keep  a  fellow  awake 
in  his  watch  below  ;  will  you,  Bill?  " 

And  Bill  said,  "  Now,  Joe,  you  know  Bill  Swan  better. 
I  sha'n't  sing  all  the  time  ;  for  I  expect  it  will  take  a  heap 
of  praying  to  keep  all  my  sails  trimmed,  and  make  the 
port  of  heaven  in  safet}".  But  you  know,  Joe,  that's 
where  Bill  is  bound ;  and  I  intend  to  crowd  all  the 
canvas  upon  this  old  bark  that  she  can  carry,  just  as 
Capt.  Shields  crowds  '  The  Maiy  Alice '  through  the 
brine.  And  now,  Joe,  we  have  been  shipmates  on  two 
vo^yages,  and  this  is  the  third  one  ;  and  you  know  Bill 
was  always  ready  to  divide  the  last  cent  with  you,  Joe. 
But  this  Jesus  that  I've  got  in  here  (striking  his  breast) 
I  can't  divide  ;  but  you  can  go  to  him,  just  as  I  did. 
And  I  tell  you,  Joe,  that  he  will  take  }*our  load  away, 
just  as  he  did  mine  ;  and  I  guess  your  load  is  as  big  as 
mine,  if  not  bigger,  for  you  are  an  older  man  than  I  am. 
I  think,  when  a  fellow  takes  fort_y  jTears  to  load  up,  that 
it  takes  him  some  little  time  to  discharge  that  cargo ;  and 
I  think,  Joe,  you  had  better  begin  to  discharge,  because, 
you  know,  if  3^011  should  get  a  shot  into  that  old  hull  of 
yours  near  the  water-line,  you  might  fill,  founder,  and  sink 
before  you  got  into  port.  You  know,  Joe,  Capt.  Shields 
told  us  last  Sunday  that  no  man  was  fit  to  die  till  he  got 
a  passport  from  Jesus  ;  and  I  got  that  last  night  under 
the  topgallant  forecastle  ;  and  the  captain's  wife  (God 
bless  her  !)  and  those  other  lady-passengers  prayed  for 
me  till  I  told  them  to  avast  their  praying,  for  my  cargo 
of  sin  was  discharged.  But  I  tell  3-011,  Joe,  it  was  not 
like  hoisting  up  one  barrel  of  sin  at  a  time,  as  we  hoist 
out  cargo  ;  but  it  was  more  like  knocking  out  the  whole 
bottom  of  the  ship,  and  discharging  the  whole  cargo  at 
once,  without  stopping  to  rig  a  purchase." 

Eight  bells  struck  the  hour  of  midnight.  The  pumps 
.were  tried,  the  watch  called  and  relieved;  and  Bill  and 
Joe,  and  the  rest  of  the  watch,  went  below  for  a  four-hours 
sleep.  At  four  A.M.,  when  the  watch  was  called,  Bill 
said  to  Joe,  "  I  have  slept  more  this  watch  below  than  I 
have  for  three  days  and  nights  before."  And  Joe  said, 


46  THE   SHIP   "  MARY  ALICE." 

"  I  believe  I  shall  have  to  begin  to  discharge  my  cargo  ; 
for  do  }'ou  know,  Bill,  if  I  shut  up  my  eyes,  }-et  I  could 
see  just  as  plain  as  if  they  were  open.  I  did  not  think  a 
fellow  could  see  with  his  eyes  shut,  before.  You  remember 
Bill,  that  night  in  New  York,  about  two  years  ago,  when 
we  all  had  been  taking  a  good  swig  at  the  landlord's 
bottle?  Sam  said  he  was  the  best  sailor  there;  and  I 
told  him  he  could  not  show  me  any  thing  about  a  ship, 
from  truck  to  keelson ;  and  he  called  me  *a  liar ;  and  I 
knocked  him  over  on  to  the  stove,  and  gave  him  a  big 
gash  on  his  face.  Now,  Bill,  he  was  right  there  all  my 
watch  below,  and  I  saw  him  with  his  face  all  blood}' ;' 
and  I  had  my  eyes  shut  all  the  time.  Now,  what  do  you 
make  of  that,  Bill?" — "Well,  Joe,  it  seems  just  as 
though,  when  the  Lord  wants  us  to  discharge  our  cargo 
of  sins,  that  he  just  makes  us  take  a  good  look  at  them 
first,  so  that  we  may  see  how  hateful  we  have  been ;  and 
when  we  begin  to  hate  them,  and  feel  that  we  cannot 
remove  them  ourselves,  and  pray  for  him  to  do  it,  he 
comes  and  discharges  the  whole  cargo  in  a  moment :  that 
is  the  way  I  found  it.  But  look  here,  Joe,  have  you 
begun  to  pray  yet?  " —  "  No,  Bill :  I  see  no  use  of  such 
a  wicked  man  as  I  am  praying." 

"But  avast  there,  Joe!  if  you  fell  overboard,  you 
would  sing  out  for  some  one  to  throw  a  rope's-end,  I 
guess,  for  you  to  lay  hold  of.  Now,  that  is  what  I  call 
praying :  it  is  just  asking  Jesus  to  do  for  us  what  we 
can't  do  for  ourselves." 

"Well,  Bill,  I  understand  now  what  praying  means." 

"  Now,  Joe,  when  the  watch  is  out,  if  you  like,  I  will 
go  with  }X>u  under  the  topgallant  forecastle,  and  just 
ask  Jesus  to  help  you  to  unload.  I  shall  never  forget 
that  place." 

When  the  watch  was  changed,  they  sought  the  spot 
where  Bill  had  found  Jesus  ;  and  Joe  began  to  tell  Jesus 
what  he  had  done.  Bill  cries,  "  Avast  there,  Joe  !  Jesus 
knows  more  about  you  than  you  can  tell  him  ;  and  all  you 
have  to  do,  Joe,  is  to  ask  him  to  take  away  your  sins, 
and  then  believe  he  will  do  it,  and  he  will  unload  3*ou  at 
once."  Bill  prayed  in  his  simple  but  fervent  spirit  for 
his  shipmate,  that  his  sins  might  be  forgiven.  Then  Joe 


THE   SHIP   "MABY   ALICE."  47 

began  to  pray  again,  begging  Jesus  to  have  mercy  upon 
his  guilty  soul.  In  his  prayer  he  said,  "I  know  you 
pan  save  sinners,  because  you  have  saved  Bill  and  Jack 
Carter ;  and  I  am  a  bigger  sinner  than  both  of  them 
together ;  and  Capt.  Shields  said  last  night  that  Jesus 
came  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost.  Lord,  I  am  lost  now. 
Seek  and  save  me,  and  I  will  serve  thee  all  my  life." 

The}'  then  went  below.  At  seven  bells  the  watch  was 
called,  and  their  breakfast  sent  them.  While  they  were 
eating  breakfast,  Joe  said,  "Bill,  I  feel  something  I  never 
felt  before." 

"What  is  it,  Joe?" 

"  Well,  somehow  I  feel  kinder  thankful  for  this  break 
fast,  and  I  am  sure  I  never  felt  so  before."  Eight  bells 
soon  struck,  and  it  was  Joe's  trick  at  the  wheel.  Per 
haps  an  hour  after,  Capt.  Shields  came  on  deck,  with 
his  wife  clinging  to  his  arm,  for  a  promenade.  After 
walking  back  and  forth  a  few  minutes,  he  discovered  that 
something  had  happened  to  Joe,  and  wanted  to  ask  him. 
As  he  had  forbidden  any  conversation  with  the  man 
at  the  wheel,  and  he  would  not  violate  his  own  order, 
Capt.  Shields  said,  "Joe,  strike  the  relief  bell."  Imme 
diately  Sam  came,  and  relieved  him  ;  and  the  captain 
said,  "  Joe,  my  man,  what  is  the  matter  with  you?  " 

Well,  you  see,  sir,  I  don't  exactly  know  ;  but  I  know 
one  thing,  that,  while  Bill  and  me  was  praying  under  the 
topgallant  forecastle,  I  got  rid  of  a  big  load  in  about 
one  minute,  and  I  have  felt  pretty  well  ever  since.  I 
want  to  tell  you,  Capt.  Shields,  I  have  shipped  and  signed 
papers  for  the  whole  voyage  of  life,  and  I  will  never  quit 
the  ship  till  I  get  my  discharge  from  Jesus  my  Saviour." 

"Well,  Joe,  I  have  been  expecting  this,  and  I  expect 
to  see  all  my  men  brought  to  Christ  before  our  return  to 
B ." 

That  evening  at  four  bells,  when  all  were  assembled, 
they  sung  the  hymn,  "  Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me,"  &c., 
in  which  many  of  the  men  joined,  and  none  sung  sweeter 
than  Bill  and  Joe.  After  singing,  Capt.  Shields  read  a 
portion  of  Scripture,  where  the  duty  of  prayer  was  urged, 
with  its  results.  This,  he  said,  had  been  fully  proven 
during  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  in  the  conversion  of  two 


48  THE   SHIP   "MAKY  ALICE." 

of  his  men.  •  After  a  few  more  remarks,  he  said,  "We 
are  about  to  bow  in  prayer  :  if  any  of  my  officers  or  men 
desire  an  especial  remembrance  in  our  petitions,  I  would 
like  to  have  them  speak  out,  without  shame  or  fear." 

The  second  officer,  Mr.  Boom,  arose,  and  said  he  wished 
an  interest  in  nil  their  prayers.  And  Sam,  who  heard  the 
conversation  between  Joe  and  the  captain,  said  he  wished 
he  was  as  good  as  his  captain  :  it  was  all  he  would  ask.  He 
would  like  for  them  to  pray  for  him,  if  they  thought  they 
could  make  him  a  better  man.  Capt.  Shields  then  told  him 
that  no  person  could  make  him  better,  but  that  Jesus 
could  cleanse  the  vilest  of  sinners.  He  can  save  even  to 
the  uttermost,  all  that  come  unto  God  by  him. 

Bill  said,  "  You  all  know  Capt.  Shields  won't  discharge 
this  ship's  cai-go  ;  but  he  will  get  somebody  to  do  it  for 
him.  When  you  are  sick,  —  and  I  believe  there  are  more 
sick  ones  here  than  Mr.  Boom  and  Sam,  —  you  send  for  the 
doctor  to  cure  you,  don't  you?  Well,  now  send  for  Jesus  : 
he  is  the  doctor,  and  he  don't  bring  a  long  bill  against 
you,  either.  He  don't  ask  any  pay.  He  cured  me  and  Joe 
for  nothing.  Now,  when  you  pray,  that  is  just  sending 
for  him ;  and  now  let  us  all  pray. ' '  The}r  all  knelt  in 
prayer,  and  Bill  prayed  first ;  then  Capt.  Shields  ;  then 
Joe  prayed  ;  then  the  captain's  wife  and  her  maid  closed 
up  that  solemn  season.  Mr.  Boom,  the  second  officer, 
felt  deeply  his  need  of  salvation  through  the  night.  He 
wanted  to  talk  with  Bill,  who  was  in  his  watch  ;  but  he 
was  too  proud  to  speak  to  one  of  the  crew,  fearing  that 
insubordination  might  grow  out  of  it,  and  so  he  refrained. 
About  two  days  after,  light  broke  in  upon  his  mind,  and 
he  and  Sam  both  seemed  to  be  very  happy. 

Here  had  been  four  conversions,  all  in  the  starboard 
watch  ;  while  there  was  but  one  Christian  in  the  larboard 
watch,  and  that  was  Jack  Carter.  But  such  an  increased 
number  of  praying  souls  were  soon  to  shake  both  watches, 
till  there  would  be  but  a  few  left  to  oppose  the  onward 
wave  of  religion  through  the  ship. 

A  few  days  after,  they  spoke  an  English  ship,  from 
Madras  for  London,  and  requested  to  be  reported.  Every 
evening  at  six  P.M.,  and  every  sabbath  morn  at  ten  A.M., 
that  ship's  company  met  for  worship.  Capt.  Shields  now 


THE   SHIP   "MAKY  ALICE."  49 

ordered  all  three  topgallant  yards  sent  down,  as  they  were 
drawing  near  the  Cape.  Here  they  experienced  the  first 
gale  of  wind,  which  was  very  heavy,  from  the  south-west. 
While  laying  to,  they  caught  several  albatrosses,  manj'  of 
which  measure,  from  one  wing's  end  to  the  other,  ten 
and  twelve  feet.  They  caught  several  Cape  pigeons  and 
Molly-mokes.  After  twelve  hours  the  gale  subsided,  and 
they  had  a  strong  gale  from  the  eastward,  which  they  im 
proved  to  the  best  advantage,  pressing  "  The  Mary  Alice" 
with  all  the  canvas  she  could  bear.  Two  days  after  they 
passed  Cape  Horn,  about  ten  miles  distant,  having  been 

fifty-four  daj's  from  B . 

In  a  few  days  after  passing  the  Cape,  the  weather  again 
began  to  assume  a  milder  aspect,  and  topgallant  and  royal 
yards  were  sent' aloft,  and  their  additional  canvas  spread 
to  the  favoring  breeze.  Passed  several  vessels  of  different 
size  and  rig  soon  after  they  had  passed  the  much-dreaded 
Cape  Horn. 


CHAPTER  V. 

OINCE  our  last  report  of  the  meetings  on  board,  five 
^  more  of  the  crew  had  shipped  on  board  the  good  ship 
Zion,  now  making  eight  that  had  been  led  to  Christ  since 

they  left  B .  Alice  had  so  kept  up  her  singing-club, 

that  they  had  a  strong  and  very  efficient  choir.  Singing 
upon  the  ocean  is  as  much  sweeter,  and  more  subduing 
in  its  influence  upon  our  hearts,  as  a  good  choir  would 
surpass  in  sweetness  the  chatter  of  an  ordinary  parrot. 

A  very  few  days  elapsed  before  they  were  again  within 
the  tropics,  where  another  porpoise  was  caught,  and  sev 
eral  dolphins  ;  and  thousands  of  skipjacks  were  following 
the  ship  from  day  to  day.  One  of  the  men  aloft  espied  a 
large  shark  in  the  ship's  wake,  following,  to  pick  up  what 
ever  was  thrown  overboard  by  the  cook.  Mr.  Helm,  the 
firs£  officer,  said  he  would  give  Mr.  Shark  an  invitation  to 
come  on  board,  if  he  would  accept.  He  accordingly  put  a 
large  piece  of  pork  on  the  shark-hook  ;  and,  with  a  strong 
line  bent  to  the  hook,  he  threw  it  over  the  stern.  It  was 
quite  moderate  then,  the  ship  going  only  about  four  miles 
per  hour.  Almost  as  soon  as  the  hook  had  passed  clear 
of  the  ship,  the  shark  seized  it  in  his  voracious  jaws  ;  but 
when  he  found  the  hook  was  through  his  lower  jaw,  and 
he  could  not  rid  himself  of  the  trouble,  he  thrashed,  and 
made  the  water  fly  merrily  for  a  while.  But  Mr.  Shark 
was  brought  alongside,  and  a  tackle  upon  the  mainyard 
soon  gave  him  a  new  element  to  try  to  live  in  ;  but  he 
soon  died  after  he  was  taken  in  upon  deck.  He  measured 
nine  feet  and  a  half  in  length,  and  had  six  rows  of  teeth 
in  each  jaw.  The  passengers  had  heard  much  said  about 
sharks,  but  never  saw  one  before. 

Two  da}*s  after  catching  the  shark,  it  had  become  so 
calm  that  the  ship  did  not  move  ;  and  a  man  who  was 
aloft  said  there  was  something  upon  the  surface  of  the 


THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE."  51 

water,  and  he  could  not  make  out  what  it  was.  Capt. 
Shields  gave  permission  to  Mr.  Helm  to  lower  one  of  the 
boats,  and  go  and  see  what  it  was.  Mr.  Helm  took  a 
pair  of  grains  and  a  harpoon  with  him,  knowing  there 
would  be  a  plenty  of  nice  fish  around  it,  to  feed  on  the 
clams  that  grow  on  any  floating  substance  that  has  been 
long  in  the  ocean.  They  soon  came  to  it ;  and  Mr.  Helm 
had  some  rare  sport,  and  did  not  stop  till  he  had  caught 
twenty  or  more  very  fine  fish  with  his  grains,  which  he 
would  dart  into  the  fish,  and  instantly  pull  him  on  board. 

They  made  a  rope  fast  to  the  cask,  for  such  it  proved 
to  be,  and  towed  it  alongside  the  ship.  A  tackle  was  in 
readiness  as  soon  as  they  came.  The}"  slung  the  cask 
with  ropes,  and  soon  hoisted  it  on  board,  and  the  boat 
was  hoisted  up  and  secured.  Men  were  set  at  work  to 
scrape  off  the  clams  from  the  cask  ;  and  it  was  thought  it 
would  hold  one  hundred  and  twenty  gallons,  and  perhaps 
more.  After  finding  the  bung,  it  was  soon  knocked  out, 
and  the  cask  was  found  to  contain  the  most  beautiful  cor 
dial  that  any  person  on  board  had  ever  seen.  The  cap 
tain  ordered  the  cask  bunged  again,  and  put  into  the 
ship's  storeroom. 

A  few  hours  after,  they  took  the  south-east  trades,  that 
bore  them  rapidly  on  their  way.  The  meetings,  in  the 
mean  while,  had  never  flagged.  Almost  every  evening 
some  unusual  anxiety  would  be  manifested  by  some  who 
had  never  shown  any  interest  before.  Five  more  of  the 
crew  and  the  third  officer  were  made  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord 
by  the  effectual  working-power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  making, 
in  all,  fourteen  that  had  forsaken  the  ways  of  sin,  and  had 
been  made  to  rejoice  in  Jesus  their  Saviour  since  their 
sailing  from  B . 

A  very  painful  accident  or  providence  occurred  one 
day.  Bill  was  at  work  in  the  maintop,  and  by  some 
means  fell.  He  caught  hold  of  one  of  the  main  bunt- 
lines  while  coming  down  ;  but  his  hold  was  broken,  and 
he  fell  upon  deck.  He  had  a  cut  in  his  forehead,  and 
had  broken  his  left  arm,  and  received  some  other  bruises. 
Alice  said,  "Dear  husband,  we  have  plenty  of  spare  rooms 
in  the  house ;  and  I  want  Bill  brought  in  here,  so  that  I 
can  take  care  of  him." 


52  THE  SHIP   "MARY  ALICE." 

"  It  shall  be  as  you  wish,  my  darling.  Oh,  what 
should  I  do  and  what  should  I  be,  if  I  had  a  proud,  self 
ish,  and  unfeeling  wife  !  Alice  dear,  do  you  not  know  I 
could  not  live  with  such  a  woman  twent}--four  hours?" 
After  Bill  was  brought  into  the  house,  Capt.  Shields  said, 
"  How  I  wish  I  was  a  good  surgeon,  that  I  might  put  this 
broken  arm  together  as  it  ought  to  be  !  " 

Dr.  A then  said  to  Capt.  Shields,  "  I  am  a  regu 
larly  trained  surgeon  and  physician  of  the  old  school,  but 
thought  I  would  not  make  known  my  official  business 
unless  there  was  an  opportunity  for  me  to  use  m}*  skill 
and  experience." 

Capt.  Shields  said  in  reply,  "I  shall  be  very  glad  to 

turn  m3T  dear  shipmate  over  to  3*011,  Dr.  A ,  with  this 

proviso,  that  I  be  allowed  to  learn  all  I  can  ;  so  that, 
if  an  occasion  should  ever  occur  in  my  future  experience, 
I  might  be  benefited  myself,  and  be  the  better  able  to 
benefit  some  fellow-sufferer." 

Dr.  A said,  "  My  dear  captain,  it  will  not  only 

be  a  pleasure  to  have  3Tour  presence,  but  I  may  need  3Tour 
assistance  ;  and  I  can  give  3Tou  some  practical  lessons  in 

surgery  if  3rou  desire  them."  Dr.  A and  Capt. 

Shields  went  into  Bill's  room,  where  the  poor  fellow  lay 

groaning  ;  and  Dr.  A ver3'  soon  set  the  broken  arm, 

sewed  up  the  wound  on  his  face,  and  applied  some  lini 
ment  to  his  other  wounds  and  bruises.  He  then  gave 
him  a  mild  opiate,  and  said  he  hoped  he  would  sleep 
quietly  for  some  hours,  that  his  natural^*  strong  plvysical 
structure  might  gather  strength  by  quiet  rest  to  grapple 
with  the  shock  it  had  received. 

Capt.  Shields  said,  "Dr.  A ,  I  feel  extremely 

thankful  for  what  I  have  been  permitted  to  see  and  hear, 
and  shall  treasure  it  up,  as  we  sailors  sa3T,  in  my  locker, 
to  be  called  out,  if  ever  needed." 

Bill,  under  Dr.  A 's  judicious  treatment  and  Alice's 

gentle  nursing,  began  to  recover  rapidty.  When  he  first 
awoke  from  his  eight-hours'  sleep,  and  opened  his  C3'es, 
he  seemed  somewhat  astonished.  Alice  saw  he  was  con 
fused,  and  said  to  him,  "Bill,  3Tou  must  lie  perfectly 
quiet ;  for  3'ou  have  had  a  terrible  fall,  — broke  3'our  arm, 
cut  your  face,  and  bruised  3'ourself  all  over,  —  and  I  had 


THE   SHIP  "MARY  ALICE."  53 

you  brought  into  this  room,  that  I  might  take  care  of  you 

till  3rou  get  well ;  and  I  want  you  to  do  just  as  Dr.  A 

and  I  tell  3'ou,  and  all  will  be  well." 

"  My  God  !  "  said  Bill,  "  what  have  I  done,  to  be  used 
in  this  way?  I  am  nothing  but  an  old,  broken-down 
hulk,  anyhow  ;  and,  if  that  buntline  had  only  been  fast  on 
deck,  I  would  not  have  been  here  now.  But,  ma'am,  I 
have  no  business  here,  anywaj-.  And  then  to  think  of 
having  my  dear  captain's  wife  to  care  for  my  old,  half- 
wrecked  hull  is  more  than  I  can  bear,  ma'am."  And  Bill 
burst  out  a-crying  like  a  grieved  child. 

Alice  said,  "Bill,  we  must  be  Christians  something 
more  than  in  name  only.  Remember,  Jesus  says,  '  All 
things,  therefore,  that  ye  would  that  others  should  do  to 
you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them ; '  and  I  know,  Bill,  if  you 
saw  me  in  danger,  you  would  come  to  my  relief." 

"Why,  God  bless  you,  ma'am  !  If  I  should  see  you  fall 
overboard,  I  would  leap  into  the  sea  in  a  moment  to  save 
3'ou,  even  if  got  drowned  :  but,  ma'am,  there  is  no  danger 
of  that,  for  I  can  swim  like  a  fish.  I  was  once  three  days 
on  a  broken  mainyard  in  the  sea,  and  two  of  my  ship 
mates  with  me,  ma'am  ;  and  they  was  both  drowned,  and 
I  was  the  only  one  that  was  saved.  But  you  won't  fall 
overboard.  God  always  will  take  care  of  his  angels,  and 
I  am  sure  you  are  one  of  them,  ma'am." 

Alice,  smiling  at  Bill's  story,  said,  "You  must  not 
think  or  call  me  an  angel,  for  I  am  not ;  and  the  Bible 
teaches  us  that  all  the  angels  that  have  ever  been  seen 
upon  earth  were  men.  There  is  no  account  in  the  Bible 
of  such  a  being  as  a  female  angel." 

"  But,"  says  Bill,  "  I  know  I  have  seen  many  pictures 
of  angels,  and  I  never  see  any  that  was  not  women." 

"  That  is  all  true,  Bill.  But  those  pictures  have  been 
gotten  up  to  create  S3Tmpathy ;  and,  by  appealing  to 
people's  S3'mpath3T,  they  hope  to  make  money  by  their 
pictures." 

"  I  see,"  said  Bill :  "  it  is  something  like  my  painting 
(if  I  could)  a  cotton-factory,  with  all  the  cog-wheel  fix 
ings,  which  I  had  never  seen." 

Alice  laughed  heartily  at  Bill's  funny  comparison,  and 
said,  "  Yes,  Bill,  it  would  be  something  like  it." 


54  THE  SHIP   "  MAEY  ALICE." 

When  Alice  met  her  husband  in  their  room  alone,  she 
said,  "Johnny,  that  man  Bill  is  a  gem  under  a  very 
rough  exterior." 

Capt.  Shields  said,  "He  is  only  a  perfect  type  of  the 
great  mass  of  our  seamen." 

Alice  replied,  saying,  "I  know  it  is  true  of  my  dear 
Johnii3T,  and  I  believe  it  is  true  of  Bill ;  for  he  said,  if 
I  should  fall  overboard,  he  would  jump  after  me  in  a 
moment." 

"Yes,"  says  her  husband;  "and  there  are  not  two 
sailors  on  board  this  ship  to-day,  but  would  do  the  same 
thing  if  they  thought  there  was  any  possibility,  or  even 
probabilit}',  of  saving  your  life,  my  dear  Alice.  You 
have  many  things  to  learn  jet  of  the  intrinsic  excellences 
of  a  thorough  sailor's  character." 

"She  replied,  saying,  "I  am  in  school  now,  nrv  dear 
Johnny,  and  shall  avail  myself  of  all  my  surroundings 
from  day  to  day  to  become  fitted  more  perfectly  to  be 
a  practical  sailor's  wife.  But,  Johnny  clear,  there  is  one 
thing  that  I  wish  very  much  to  learn ;  and  that  is  the 
theory  of  navigation,  so  that,  if  any  thing  should  happen 
to  you,  I  might  be  able  to  navigate  the  ship  mj'self." 

"  Just  like  your  own  self,  my  ever-precious  Alice.  You 
shall  receive  your  first  lesson  to-day." 

"  Well,  Johnny  dear,  when  3-011  get  reach/for  me,  please 
send  Annie  for  me.  I  must  go  now,  and  relieve  Annie 
for  a  while,  and  look  after  my  patient."  As  soon  as  she 
made  her  appearance  in  Bill's  room,  he  began  to  weep  ; 
and  she  asked  him  why  he  wept.  "  Well,  you  see,  ma'am, 
I  have  not  got  a  single  shot  in  my  old  locker.  I  have 
alwa3*s  spent  it  for  whiskey ;  and  all  rny  wages  won't  half 
pay  you  for  what  you  have  done  to  keep  this  old  hull  of 
mine  from  foundering,  and  going  to  the  bottom  to  make 
grub  for  sharks.  Anj'how,  ma'am,  3*011  shall  have  all  my 
wages  ;  and  I  don't  see  as  how  I  can  do  any  better,  if  I 
give  3Tou  all  I've  got.  Well,  3*ou  see,  I  can't  do  any 
more.  That's  fair  now,  ain't  it,  ma'am?  " 

By  the  time  Bill  had  got  through  with  expressing  his 
intentions,  Alice  was  in  tears ;  and  Bill,  not  apprehend 
ing  the  cause,  said,  "Ma'am,  don't  en* ;  for,  if  I  can't 
pay^  the  whole  amount,  it  ma3*  be  Jesus  will  give  3*011  the 


THE   SHIP   "  MARY  ALICE."  55 

balance  from  his  locker,  for  he  has  been  pretty  busy  in 
handing  out  the  best  coin  I  ever  saw.  There  is  Joe  and 
Sam  and  Harvey  and  Jack  and  the  second  mate,  and  old 
Bill ;  and  I  tell  you,  ma'am,  I  am  just  as  happy  here  as  I 
can  be." 

Alice  told  him  she  got  her  pay  from  Jesus  every  day, 
and  he  would  never  have  a  cent  to  pay.  "Now,  Bill,  I 
hope  you  will  never  think  of  this  again.  But  I  want  to 
ask  you  one  question,  Bill ;  and  that  is,  when  we  arrive 
at  San  Francisco,  and  you  go  on  shore  with  your  ship 
mates,  whether  you  will  drink  any  more  whiskey,  as  you 
have  done  in  your  past  life." 

"Why,  God  bless  you,  ma'am!  didn't  I  tell  Jesus,  if 
he  would  just  forgive  me,  and  discharge  the  wicked  cargo 
I  had  been  taking  in  every  day  of  my  life,  that  I  never 
would  take  any  more  such  cargo  into  this  old  hull  of  mine  ? 
And  don't  ye  know,  ma'am,  he  discharged  my  whole  cargo 
in  a  minute,  and  he  didn't  stop  to  rig  a  tackle  ;  and  now, 
ma'am,  do  you  think  I  will  ever  go  back  on  Jesus,  who 
has  done  all  this  for  me?  I  tell  you,  ma'am,  Bill  don't 
ever  treat  his  shipmates  in  that  kind  of  a  way ;  and  I  am 
sure  I  love  Jesus  too  well  to  do  that  thing.  And,  if  the 
land-sharks  bait  their  hooks  for  a  bite,  I  know  of  one  fish 
they  will  never  catch ;  and  that's  old  Bill.  Why,  God 
bless  ye,  ma'am  !  I  know  all  them  old  land-sharks.  Have 
they  not  caught  me  by  the  gills  in  Boston,  New  York, 
Charleston,  New  Orleans,  and  in  London  and  Liverpool 
and  Calcutta,  and  I  don't  know  how  man}"  other  places, 
for  I  have  forgot  some  of  them?  I  want  to  tell  you, 
ma'am,  the}'  have  caught  old  Bill  for  the  last  time.  Why, 
ma'am,  I  don't  never  forget  what  I  remember,  and  I  don't 
suppose  anybody  does ;  but  the  captain  read  at  the  last 
meeting  I  went  to  before  I  was  thrown  on  my  beam-ends, 
that  they  that  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  be  as  Mount  Zion, 
that  cannot  be  removed,  but  abideth  forever.  Thinks  I 
to  myself,  thinks  I,  'That  means  you,  Bill.'  Now,  if  I 
trust  in  Jesus,  I  cannot  be  removed.  It's  a  kind  of 
bargain,  ain't  it,  ma'am?  If  I  trust,  he  will  keep  me. 
Ain't  it  so,  ma'am?  That  is  the  way  it  seems  to  me. 
Now,  ma'am,  am  I  right,  or  wrong?  You  know  all  about 
it ;  and  I  want  you  should  tell  me,  for  I  want  to  be  just 


56  THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE." 

right,  and,  if  I  arn  wrong,  I  want  to  know  that,  so  as  to 
do  better." 

Alice  then  told  Bill  she  thought  he  was  all  right,  and 
that  he  was  tired,  and  needed  rest,  and  thought  he  had 
better  not  talk  any  more  till  some  other  time  ;  and  he, 
like  an  obedient  child,  soon  fell  asleep. 

During  all  this  time  "The  Mar}' Alice  "  was  making 
rapid  strides  towards  her  destined  port.  Two  more  of 
the  men,  and  Mr.  Helm  the  first  officer,  had  found  Jesus 
precious  to  their  souls  as  their  Saviour.  Bill  had  not  yet 
returned  to  duty,  but  was  well  enough  to  mingle  with  his 
shipmates  in  the  forecastle.  Alice  had  become  so  well 
versed  in  the  theor}T  of  navigation,  that  she  could  make 
up  the  ship's  da}T's  work,  as  we  sailors  term  it,  quicker 
than  her  husband,  and  fully  as  accurate.  That  da}*  they 
spoke  the  ship  "  Hector,"  from  San  Francisco,  bound  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  only  four  days  out,  and  requested 
her  to  report. 

All  hands  were  now  busy  in  scouring  and  cleaning  ship, 
so  as  to  make  as  good  an  impression  as  it  was  possible  to 
make.  At  ten  A.M.,  two  da3*s  after  speaking  "The 
Hector,"  land  was  discovered  ahead;  and  "The  Mary 
Alice,"  crowded  by  a  press  of  canvas,  soon  came  in  near 
the  land,  and  set  signal  for  a  pilot,  the  ship  laying  with 
her  maintopsail  aback,  waiting.  Very  soon  one  was 
discovered  standing  towai'ds  the  ship,  and  very  soon  the 
pilot  was  on  board,  and  sail  made  ;  and  in  threee  hours 
after,  "  The  Mary  Alice  "  was  anchored  abreast  of  the 
city,  sails  all  neath'  furled,  yards  all  squared  b}*  lifts  and 
braces.  Capt.  Shields  then  asked  the  pilot  if  the  ship 
"  C,"  from  New  York,  had  arrived,  and  was  told  she  had 
not.  He  then  remarked,  "  She  ought  to  be  here,  for  she 
sailed  ten  days  before  me.  He  hoped  nothing  had  hap 
pened  to  her.  Capt.  Shields  went  on  shore,  reported  the 
arrival  of  the  ship  "  Mary  Alice,"  one  hundred,  and  two 

days  from  B -,  commanded  by  John  Shields.  He  then 

went  to  the  custom-house,  and,  after  finishing  his  business 
there,  returned  to  his  ship.  He  ordered  Mr.  Helm  to  call 
all  hands  aft.  Capt.  Shields  said  to  them,  "You  have  all 
done  your  duties  faithfully,  and  to  my  satisfaction,  and 
to  the  satisfaction  of  my  officers.  And  now,  as  many  of 


THE   SHIP   "MABY  ALICE."  57 

you  as  wish  to  remain  by  the  ship,  to  go  with  me  again, 
please  to  place  yourselves  on  the  starbord  side  of  the 
deck:"  all  but  two  went  over.  He  then  said  to  the 
two  men,  "You  are  now  discharged  from  further  duty  ; 
but,  if  3*ou  wish  to  remain  by  the  ship  for  a  week,  I  shall 
not  charge  }TOU  for  your  board.  I  will  pay  you  off  to 
morrow.  You  can  now  go  forward." 

Dr.  A asked  Capt.  Shields  if  he  knew  where  he 

should  go  from  there.  He  told  him  that  at  present  he  did 
not  know  ;  but  his  ship  was  new,  and  would  command  the 
highest  freights,  and  he  should  be  on  the  alert  to  accept 
the  first  profitable  offer  made  him.  . 

The  next  day  ' '  The  Mary  Alice ' '  was  hauled  in  to  the 
wharf.  No  sooner  was  she  made  fast  than  the  sailor-land 
lords,  in  numbers,  rushed  on  board,  expecting  a  rich  har 
vest  from  so  large  a  ship  as  "The  Mary  Alice."  Bill 
went  aft,  and  asked  permission  of  Capt.  Shields  to  give 
those  sailor-landlords  a  bit  of  a  talk.  The  captain  seemed 
to  wait;  but  Alice  said,  "  Give  him  permission.  I  want 
to  hear  him." 

Capt.  Shields  said,  "Bill,  I  have  no  objection,  if  you 
don't  insult  them:  that  will  not  benefit  either  you  or 
them." 

Bill  went  forward ;  and  one  of  them  said,  "  Are  you 
a-going  to  remain  by  the  ship  ?  You  can  get  twenty  dol 
lars  per  month  to  go  anywhere  to  almost  any  port."  Bill 
then  mounted  the  topgallant  forecastle,  and  said,  so  every 
one  on  board  and  many  on  shore  could  hear,  ' '  Now, 
shipmates  and  sailor-landlords,  I  have  found  a  floating 
heaven  on  board  this  good  ship  'Mary  Alice  ; '  and  I  don't 
propose  to  leave  her,  unless  my  dear  captain  turns  me 
adrift."  And  all  the  crew  cried  out,  "  Amen!  you  have 
spoken  our  minds."  And  Joe  exclaimed,  "  The  most  of 
us  have  learned  to  let  well  enough  alone." 

One  landlord  after  another  left  the  ship  ;  and,  as  they 
were  going  over  the  ship's  side,  Bill  struck  up  the  hymn  he 
had  sung,  as  if  by  inspiration,  when  he  was  converted:  — 

"  Jesus  loves  me,  and  I  love  him : 

That  will  do,  that  will  do. 

He  set  me  free  from  all  my  sin, 

And  bids  me  go  to  work  for  him : 

That  will  do,  that  will  do. 


58  THE   SHIP   "MAKY  ALICE." 

In  my  whole  life,  never  before, 
Neither  at  sea,  nor  while  on  shore, 
Have  I  loved  him  I  now  adore : 
That  will  do,  that  will  do." 

The  landlords  left,  cursing  all  the  psalm-singing  sailors 
on  board,  and  all  other  Christians  generally .  After  Capt. 
Shields  and  his  wife  had  entered  the  cabin,  Alice  said, 
"  I  told  }*ou  dear  old  Bill  would  do  the  thing  just  right." 

"  But,  Alice  dear,  I  cannot  conceive  where  that  old  tar 
got  his  poetical  ingenuity  from  ;  for  that  was  a  splendid 
composition.  I  have  never  heard  any  thing  about  it  be 
fore." 

Alice  said  she  had  never  heard  it  sung  before.  But  Mr. 
Boom  said,  "  He  sung  it  the  night  he  was  converted,  and 
told  me  about  it  at  that  time.  I  believe  he  must  have 
been  inspired  by  the  Spirit  of  God  at  that  moment ;  for  I 
can  see  that  his  education  has  been  very  limited  indeed." 
Her  husband  said  he  did  not  believe  he  ever  went  to  school 
a  day  in  his  life. 

Mr.  Shields  and  his  wife  went  on  shore  as  soon  as  the 

ship  was  hauled  in  to  the  wharf.  Dr.  A called  Capt. 

Shields  into  his  room ;  and,  when  they  were  alone,  he 
said,  "  I  am  on  a  voyage  of  pleasure,  and  relaxation  from 
my  professional  duties  ;  and,  with  your  consent,  I  propose 
to  make  your  ship  my  home  or  headquarters  till  I  find 
where  you  go  when  3Tou  leave  this  place." 

Capt.  Shields  replied  by  saying  it  would  be  very  pleas 
ing  to  him,  as  well  as  to  his  wife.  He  then  added,  "I 
suppose  you  know  the  peculiar  condition  of  my  wife. 
That  has  made  me  hesitate  somewhat  in  accepting  a 
freight  which  has  been  offered  me  to-day,  and  I  only  have 
two  more  days  to  accept  or  reject  that  freight.  They  offer 
me  a  very  fair  freight  to  Australia,  with  a  cargo  of 
wheat." 

Dr.  A said,  if  he  should  conclude  to  accept  their 

proposition,  he  should  wish  to  remain  and  go  with  him. 

Capt.  Shields  then  said  to  Dr.  A ,  — 

"  If  I  accept  that  freight,  will  you  go  as  a  passenger 
with  me  ?  ' '  Dr.  A gave  him  an  affirmative  reply. 

"I  will  see  what  Alice  says  about  the  arrangement, 
and  let  you  know."  Alice  was  perfectly  delighted ;  for 


THE   SHIP   "  MARY  ALICE."  59 

she  had  become  very  warm!}'  attached  to  Dr.  A ever 

since  she  saw  his  skill  and  judicious  treatment  with  Bill. 
That  matter  permanentl}-  settled,  Alice  was  more  cheerful 
than  she  had  been  for  several  days. 

By  the  1st  of  March  they  began  to  take  in  their  cargo 
for  Australia  ;  and  on  the  20th  of  March  they  sailed,  but 
not  till  Capt.  Shields  had  discharged  his  carpenter,  and 
promoted  Bill  to  the  office  of  carpenter  and  boatswain. 
Bill  was  overwhelmed  with  gratitude  to  his  captain  for 
his  promotion,  and  said  he  would  try  to  do  his  duty. 
"The  Mary  Alice"  sailed  with  a  fair  wind,  and  with 
grateful  hearts  to  God  for  all  his  blessings  upon  them ; 
and  in  their  first  evening  meeting  it  was  evident  to  all 
that  God's  Spirit  was  with  them  of  a  truth.  One  after 
another  of  the  men  spoke  of  Jesus'  love  to  them.  Joe 
said  he  was  ashore  one  day,  and  a  man  asked  him  to  go 
into  a  saloon.  He  went  in,  and  the  man  went  to  the 
counter,  and  called  for  a  drink ;  and  he  took  it,  and  then 
handed  it  to  Joe,  saying,  "Now  drink  that  to  my  good 
health."  Joe  replied,  "I  am  done  drinking  poison  to 
other  people's  good  health  for  the  sake  of  destro3*ing  my 
own."  Capt.  Shields  said,  "  You  gave  him  a  reply  which 
I  hope  he  will  ever  remember.  Ever  remember,  my  men, 
that,  if  }'ou  resist  temptations,  Jesus  will  help  you.  His 
word  says  he  will  not  suffer  us  to  be  tempted  above  that 
we  are  able  to  bear,  but  with  the  temptation  will  pro 
vide  a  way  of  escape,  that  we  may  be  able  to  bear  it. 
Now,  I  wish,  that,  during  our  long  passage,  every  man 
will  study  his  Bible  every  day,  so  that  you  may  become 
strong  Christians,  and  intelligent,  active,  working  Chris 
tians.  You  all  know  how  long  it  took  you  to  become 
what  we  call  an  able  seaman,  so  as  to  know  what  to  do 
with  a  ship  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances. 
Now,  on  this  passage,  I  have  to  get  the  sun  at  noon,  and 
make  up  my  day's  work,  and  then  mark  our  place  on  the 
chart  every  day,  so  that  I  may  know  where  I  am.  Just 
so  everj-  Christian  man  and  woman  ought  to  stud}*  the 
Bible,  for  it  is  both  chart  and  compass  to  the  Christian ; 
and  by  daily  study  you  can  find  out  where  you  are,  and 
what  your  prospects  are  for  reaching  the  port  of  heaven 
in  safety." 


60  THE  SHIP   "MAKY  ALICE." 

Time  rolled  on,  and  the  good  ship  was  making  her  way 
rapidly  on  her  passage.  The  sabbath  services  and  daily 
prayer-meetings  were  alwa}rs  full  of  interest,  and  the 
singing  never  flagged.  Bill's  hymn  was  sung  by  all  as 
their  favorite.  But  Bill,  having  received  a  handle  to  his 
name  by  his  promotion,  must  be  called  Bill  no  longer,  but 
Mr.  Mainstay ;  and  by  that  name  he  will  be  known  and 
called  in  the  future. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ON  the  first  day  of  April,  Alice  made  a  present  to  her 
husband  of  a  beautiful  daughter,  with  which  he  seemed 

delighted,  particularly  when  Dr.  A assured  him  that 

his  wife  was  very  comfortable,  and  doing  nicely.  Annie 
was  with  her  mistress,  whom  she  loved  as  tenderly  as  her 
own  sister.  When  the  babe  was  about  two  weeks  old, 
Mrs.  Shields  one  day  said,  "I  think  you  told  me  that 
you  came  from  Vermont.  Annie  said  she  did,  and  said, 
"  That  makes  me  think  of  something.  Ma}'  I  leave  you 
long  enough  to  go  to  my  trunk?  I  will  be  back  in  a 
moment."  Mrs.  Shields  said,  "  Certainly." 

In  a  few  moments  she  returned  with  a  sealed  package 
with  this  inscription  on  the  envelope  :  "  This  package  not 
to  be  opened  till  after  my  death.  Signed,  Annie  Baker, 
Vermont,  January,  1852."  Now,  my  dear  mistress,  what 
ever  this  package  may  contain,  it  will  certainly  be  right 
to  open  it  now."  Annie  tore  open  the  envelope,  and  in 
it  was  a  most  beautiful  picture.  As  soon  as  Alice  saw 
it,  she  at  once  exclaimed,  "O  me!  "  Annie  asked  her 
what  she  saw  in  it  that  so  surprised  her  ;  and  Alice  said, 
"It  is  the  image  of  my  only  dear  sister  Mary,  only  I  see 
now  that  it  looks  older  than  she  is.  Now,  Annie  dear, 
read  me  the  contents  of  that  package,  if  you  have  no  ob 
jections  to  m}'  knowing  its  secrets."  Annie  said,  "I 
desire  to  have  no  secrets  from  you,  my  dear  mistress." 

"  'This  paper,  my  dear  child,  will  give  you  a  perfect 
knowledge  of  your  right  name,  and  the  names  of  both 
of  your  parents,  now  in  heaven  I  have  no  doubt.  Your 
father's  name  was  Alfred  Bird.  He  was  a  carpenter  by 
trade,  and  married  Miss  Annie  Bliss,  the  only  sister  of 

Mary  Bliss,  who  was  married  to  some  person  in  G , 

but  I  have  forgotten  his  name.'  '  Mrs.  Shields  then  said 
to  Annie,  "Call  Capt.  Shields  in."  She  immediately 


62  THE   SHIP    "MAKY   ALICE." 

called  him ;  and,  when  he  came  in,  Alice  asked  him  his 
mother's  maiden  name,  and  he  told  her  it  was  Mar}7  Bliss. 
' '  My  dear  Johnny,  permit  me  to  introduce  to  you  your 
own  cousin,  Annie  Bird.  Why,  Johnny  dear,  how  good 
the  blessed  Jesus  is  to  us  poor  sinners  !  "  —  "  Well,  my 
dear  Alice,  that  makes  me  think  of  that  beautiful  hymn  of 
Watts's,  '  God  moves  in  amj'sterious  way,  his  wonders  to 
perform, '  "  &c.  "  Well,  now  read  on,  my  own  sweet  cousin 
Annie,"  said  the  happy  Alice.  "  '  In  about  a  year  after 
their  marriage,  they  moved  into  my  neighborhood,  and 
Mr.  Bird  bought  a  little  farm ;  but  in  six  months  after 
Mr.  Bird  died  very  suddenly  with  a  lung-fever.  Three 
months  after,  a  daughter  was  born  ;  and  the  mother  said, 
"  If  I  should  not  live,  name  this  child  Annie  Bliss  Bird." 
I  was  called  to  nurse  Mrs.  Bird.  She  only  lived  about 
twelve  hours  after  her  child  was  born  ;  and  the  selectmen 
said  they  would  put  the  child  in  the  almshouse,  and  sell 
the  farm  for  her  support.  I  told  them  they  never  should 
send  that  child  to  the  almshouse.  Although  I  was  a  pool- 
widow,  I  would  share  the  last  crumb  with  that  child.  I 
then  said  to  the  selectmen,  "  I  wish  }*ou  would  sell  the 

farm,  and  put  the  proceeds  in  the  savings  bank  at  B 

in  the  name  of  Annie  B.  Bird."  In  a  month  after,  the 
farm  was  sold  for  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  ;  and 
not  a  cent  of  principal  or  interest  has  ever  been  drawn,  as 
you  will  see  by  the  date  of  your  bank-book,  which  I  en 
close  in  this  package.  I  did  not  think  best  in  my  lifetime 
to  break  up  the  motherly  feelings  which  I  have  ever  en 
tertained  towards  you.  You  well  remember,  that,  when 
3Tou  were  fifteen  years  of  age,  }'ou  said,  "  Mother,  I  am 
old  enough  to  get  my  own  living,  and  not  be  such  a  tax 
upon  you. ' '  And  I  finally  consented,  and  you  went  to  Bos 
ton,  and  went  a's  an  apprentice  to  learn  a  vest-maker's 
trade.  The  next  year  I  found  my  health  was  failing  me. 
I  made  my  will,  and  have  put  it  in  trust  for  }-ou,  into  the 

hands  of  Rev.  Mr.  B ,  whom  you  well  know.' ' 

Annie  lifted  up  her  hands  with  astonishment,  sa}-ing, 
"  I  never  heard  of  my  mother's  death."  Alice  said,  "But 
she  was  not  your  mother."  —  "I  know  it  now.  But  she 
was  all  the  mother  I  ever  knew  ;  and  I  loved  her  then,  and 
ever  shall  love  her, —  more  now,  a  thousand  times  more, 


THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE."  63 

than  I  ever  did  before.  Oh,  how  few  poor  widows  would 
have  made  the  sacrifice  she  made  to  keep  me  out  of  the 
almshouse,  and  then  to  educate  me  besides  !  for  ray  mother 
was  a  well-educated  woman.  I  have  been  to  school  but 
very  little ;  but  my  mother  gave  me  lessons  every  day, 
and  it  always  seemed  so  easy  to  learn  from  her !  she 
always  made  eveiy  thing  so  plain  and  easy  for  me  !  My 
mother's  name  was  Annie  Baker.  The  word  Bliss  I 
never  remember  hearing  my  mother  mention ;  and  the 
letter  B  was  unknown  to  me  in  connection  with  my  name. 
I  have  never  known  any  other  name  but  Annie  Baker. 
But  oh,  my  dear,  patient,  suffering  mother  !  And  I  knew 
nothing  about  it." 

Alice  then  asked  Annie  how  long  it  had  been  since  she 
had  received  a  letter  from  her ;  and  Annie  said  she  could 
not  tell  till  she  went  to  her  trunk,  and  found  her  last 
letter.  She  went,  and  soon  returned  with  a  letter,  with  a 
postmark  on  the  envelope  "  Brattleborough,  May,  1853." 
"  My  mother  put  this  package  into  the  bottom  of  my  trunk, 
and  I  never  saw  it  till  about  two  months  ago." 

"That  is  but  a  little  more  than  a  year  before  I  was 
married,"  said  Alice.  "We  were  married  in  June,  1854. 
But  I  am  anxious  to  hear  that  letter,  my  dear'  cousin 
Annie  Bliss  Bird.  What  a  beautiful  name  !  And  you 
have  ever  been  a  blissful  bird  to  me,  dear  Annie ;  and 
now,  when  we  find  such  good  authority  proving  that  }'ou 
are  my  own  dear  cousin,  I  think  it  blissful  indeed.  But 
let  us  have  that  letter  now  :  I  can  wait  no  longer." 

DUMMERSTON,  May,  1853. 

My  dear  daughter,  I  have  waited  for  some  time,  hoping  to  hear 
from  you;  but,  as  I  have  not  heard  from  you  for  more  than  a  month, 
I  thought  I  would  write,  and  let  you  know  how  anxious  I  am  to 
hear  from  you.  I  send  this  by  Mr.  B ,  to  be  mailed  at  Brattle- 
borough  to  you;  and  I  wish  you  to  let  me  hear  from  you  on  receipt 
of  this.  I  am  enjoying  as  good  health  as  usual;  but  I  have  nothing 
of  importance  to  write  more,  more  than  that  my  dear  Annie  may 
ever  remember  my  counsel  to  go  out  but  little  evenings  in  that 
wicked  city,  where  so  many  alluring  nets  are  set  to  entrap  the 
young  and  unsuspecting;  for,  in  giving  you  such  advice,  I  only  have 
your  future  good  at  heart.  Reply  as  soon  as  you  receive  this. 
From  your  ever  dear  mother  to  her  beloved  daughter  Annie. 

ANNIE  BAKER. 

"  Well,  my  dear  Annie,"  said  Alice,  "  I  do  not  wonder 


64  THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE." 

that  you  love  such  a  mother  ;  for  that  is  a  letter  of  excel 
lent  counsel,  Annie  clear.  And  now  one  more  question  : 
When  did  you  reply  to  this  excellent  letter  ?  ' ' 

"  I  can  soon  tell  you,  cousin  Alice,"  said  Annie  ;  "  for, 
ever  since  my  dear  mother  instructed  me,  I  have  kept  a 
receipt-book,  in  which  I  have  entered  every  letter  received, 
and  all  I  have  written,  and  I  have  often  found  it  conven 
ient  for  reference." 

Alice  replied,  saying  she  thought  her  mother  must  be 
a  very  methodical  woman ;  and  Annie  said  she  ought  to 
be,  for  she  was  a  Methodist  in  every  sense  of  that  word. 

Annie  brought  her  receipt-book,  and  found  that  she  had 
replied  to  that  letter  June  30,  1853.  Alice  then  asked  if 
that  was  the  last  letter  she  had  received  or  written  ;  and 
Annie  said  that  was  the  last  entry  on  her  receipt-book. 
"  Stop  a  moment.  I  really  believe  I  remember  of  another 
letter."  And  she  went  and  found  it  in  her  dress-pocket. 

It  was  dated  in  D ,  April,  1854,  and  contained  similar 

advice  to  the  other. 

Annie  said,  "  I  know  I  must  have  answered  it,  although, 
for  some  reason,  I  failed  to  record  either  of  them  ;  and  I 
am  certain  this  was  my  mother's  last  letter." 

Alice  then  said,  "  Your  dear  mother  may  be  living  to 
day,  for  aught  you  know,  dear  Annie." 

;'  That  is  true,"  said  Annie  ;  "  and  I  have  broken  open 
this  package  without  knowing  whether  she  was  dead  or 
alive."  And  Annie  wept  like  a  child,  saying,  "I  would 
do  nothing  to  displease  my  precious  dear  mother.  Alice 
endeavored  to  comfort  her,  saying  it  was  a  sin  of  igno 
rance,  if  it  could  be  called  a  sin. 

Annie  said,  "That  is  what  pains  me:  I  had  no  right 
to  open  the  package  till  I  knew  my  mother  was  dead." 

"  Well,  Annie  dear,  the  deed  is  done ;  and  I  know  by 
those  tears,  that  you  are  heartily  sorry  ;  and  I  know  Jesus 
will  forgive  you  ;  and  I  think  your  dear  mother  would 
also  forgive  you,  if  she  knew  all  the  circumstances  :  so 
cheer  up,  my  dear  cousin,  and  let  us  believe  all  will  be 
well." 

We  must  leave  the  two  cousins  for  the  present,  to  see 
how  Capt.  Shields  quelled  a  plot  which  was  intended  to 
result  in  a  rnutiu}'.  Our  readers  will  remember  that 


THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE."  65 

Capt.  Shields  discharged  two  men  in  San  Francisco,  and 
shipped  two  men  to  fill  their  places.  The  name  of  one 
was  Bob,  and  the  other  Fred.  After  sailing,  neither  of 
these  two  men  ever  attended  the  evening  praj-er-meeting. 
This  was  noticed  by  Capt.  Shields  and  by  all  the  men  ; 
and  they  very  reluctantly  attended  the  sabbath-morning 
services.  The  first  and  third  mates  were  both  in  the 
larboard  watch  together,  Mr.  Helm,  the  first  mate,  having 
sole  charge  of  the  deck.  And  here  I  wish  to  remark  that 
Mr.  Helm  was  a  splendid  seaman  and  navigator,  and  was 
very  highly  esteemed  by  Capt.  Shields  and  by  all  the 
crew  except  Bob  and  Fred. 

After  being  at  sea  a  few  days,  Mr.  Helm  noticed  that 
the  third  officer,  Mr.  Head,  was  forward  with  the  men  the 
most  of  his  watch  upon  deck  in  the  night.  He  thought 
it  best  to  say  nothing  to  him,  but  strictl}r  and  quietly 
watch  results.  One  very  calm  though  dark  night,  he  no 
ticed  that  Mr.  Head  went  forward  very  soon  after  he 
came  upon  deck  ;  and  Mr.  Helm  felt,  for  some  reason  he 
could  not  explain,  a  degree  of  uneasiness  which  he  never 
felt  before.  These  two  men,  Fred  and  Bob,  were  both  in 
his  watch,  and  he  went  forward  to  see  that  every  thing 
was  right.  Jack  Carter  came  to  him,  and  said  in  a  low 
voice,  "  Bob  and  Fred  are  trying  to  kick  up  a  row,  and  I 
thought  it  best  to  let  you  know  it,  sir ;  and  I  think  Mr. 
Head  is  in  for  a  share  somewhere." 

"Thank  tyou,  Jack  !  Keep  dark,  and  watch  them,  and, 
if  you  learn  any  thing  more,  report  to  me  at  once."  — 
"Ay,  ay,  sir!"  said  Jack.  Mr.  Helm  went  aft  again; 
but  he  was  restless.  In  a  few  minutes  after  he  went  for 
ward  again,  and  overheard  Mr.  Head  say,  "  I  will  pro 
vide  3"ou  with  pistols  from  the  arm-chest,  and  lock  it,  so 
that  they  can  get  no  weapons  to  help  themselves  with,  and 
we  will  have  them  in  a  tight  fix."  Bob  said,  "We  can 
fasten  them  all  below,  and  then  we  can  just  put  one  of 
them  in  soak  at  a  time,  that  will  not  submit  to  our  articles 
of  faith  and  practice."  Fred  said,  "  We  shall  find  both 
hands  full  when  we  come  to  deal  with  Jack  Carter  and 
old  Joe,  who  are  both  in  our  watch :  they  are  as  strong  as 
a  couple  of  horses,  and  the}7  don't  fear  the  devil,  neither  of 
them." 


66  THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE." 

Mr.  Helm  quietly  retired.  He  then  very  pleasantly 
called  Mr.  Head  aft,  saying,  "  Take  charge  of  the  deck 
for  a  few  minutes,  sir ;  "  and  he  went  into  the  house,  and 
made  Capt.  Shields  acquainted  with  the  whole  pro 
gramme.  Capt.  Shields  then  said,  "  "Without  the  rest  of 
the  watch  knowing  it,  send  me  Joe  and  Jack  Carter."  It 
was  done  in  a  few  moments.  He  then  said,  "  Send  that 
man  Bob  to  me  at  once."  Mr.  Helm  said,  "  He  may  be 
armed."  —  "  Send  him  at  once,  sir  !  He  will  soon  find  he 
has  no  coward  to  deal  with." 

Mr.  Helm  called  Bob  to  him,  and  said,  "The  captain 
wants  to  see  you  in  the  cabin."  Bob  thought  he  was 
going  to  give  him  a  talk,  because  he  had  not  attended 
meetings  :  so  into  the  cabin  he  went,  without  the  least  sus 
picion  of  the  reception  he  would  receive.  As  soon  as  he 
entered,  Joe  closed  the  door,  and  stood  against  it.  Capt. 
Shields  then  said,  "Bob,  I  have  a  pair  of  handcuffs 
here  that  will  fit  you,  I  think.  Reach  out  your  hands, 
and  try  them  on."  Bob  said,  "What  does  this  mean?" 
Capt.  Shields,  in  a  voice  like  thunder,  said,  "I  do  not 
parle}"  with  mutineers!  —  Jack,  put  on  these  irons!" 
Jack  said,  "Now,  Bob,  if  you  want  to  keep  the  breath 
in  you,  it  will  be  better  for  you  to  submit  at  once." 
Bob,  looking  the  situation  in  the  face,  held  out  his  hands, 
and  Jack  put  his  wrist-ruffles  on  at  once. 

Capt.  Shields  then  ordered  him  to  sit  down.  He  then 
said  to  Joe,  "  Go  upon  deck,  and  tell  Mr.  Helm  to  send 
Fred  into  the  cabin."  In  a  few  moments  he  came  ;  and, 
when  he  saw  Bob  there  already  in  irons,  he  knew  it  was 
all  up  with  him,  and  he  submitted  to  be  put  in  irons 
without  saying  a  word.  The  captain  then  sent  for  Mr. 
Head  ;  and  when  he  came  in,  and  saw  the  two  men  with 
whom  he  had  planned  a  wholesale  drowning  or  butchery, 
he  was  overwhelmed  with  astonishment,  and  wished  to 
make  some  explanation.  But  Capt.  Shields,  in  a  voice 
of  thunder,  exclaimed,  "Silence,  sir!  not  a  word  from 
you,  sir  !  —  Jack  Carter,  go  upon  deck,  and  take  charge  of 
the  deck,  and  send  Mr.  Helm  to  me,  sir."  Mr.  Helm 
was  in  the  cabin  in  a  few  moments  ;  and  Capt.  Shields 
said  to  him,  "  Have  these  three  men  put  between  decks, 
with  Joe  to  watch  them,  until  eight  bells  in  the  morning." 


THE   SHIP   "MARY   ALICE."  67 

Now,  this  whole  matter  was  so  quietly  conducted,  that 
none  except  the  watch  upon  deck  knew  any  thing  about 
it.  At  eight  bells  in  the  morning,  Capt.  Shields  ordered 
Mr.  Helm  to  call  all  hands  aft ;  and  this  strange,  un 
usual  call  brought  Dr.  A and  wife,  and  Alice  and 

Annie,  out  upon  the  quarter-deck.  After  all  his  men 
had  come  aft,  he  then  said,  "  Mr.  Helm,  you  will  please 
bring  the  prisoners  upon  deck."  When  they  saw  Mr. 
Head,  Bob,  and  Fred  led  on  deck  by  Joe,  in  irons,  they 
were  all  astonished.  Capt.  Shields  then  said,  "These 
three  men  had  already  plotted  a  mutin}T,  in  which  any 
persons  on  board  not  submitting  to  their  authorit}*  and 
dictation,  were,  to  use  their  own  language,  to  be  put  in 
soak,  or,  in  other  words,  were  to  be  thrown  overboard 
and  drowned.  Providentially  the  plot  was  discovered 
before  the}"  had  time  to  execute  their  hellish  design. 
Neither  of  these  men,  under  any  circumstances,  will  be 
returned  to  dut}T  again.  I  now  promote  Jack  Carter 
as  my  third  officer ;  and  I  know  my  men  well  enough 
to  believe  that  every  man  on  board  of  this  ship  will  obey 
his  orders  as- the  third  officer  of  this  ship  in  the  future.  — 
Mr.  Carter,  you  will  please  accept  the  office,  and  I  will 
pa}'  you  the  same  wages  as  I  paid  the  mutinous  villain 
who  once  filled  that  office." 

The  prisoners  were  then  ordered  between  decks,  with 
Joe  for  their  watchman.  The  captain  then  told  Mr. 
Helm  he  had  better  take  Dick  and  Sam  out  of  the  star 
board  watch,  to  better  equalize  the  strength  of  the  men  in 
the  two  watches.  Capt.  Shields  then  said,  "  Men,  you 
have  all  ever  been  well  treated  by  mj-self  and  nry  officers, 
and  ever  will  be,  so  long  as  you  continue  to  be  respectful 
and  obedient  to  my  officers,  and  do  your  duty.  But  insub 
ordination  or  disobedience  cannot  exist  one  moment  on 
board  of  this  ship  ;  and  any  man  who  attempts  it  will  find 
in  me  a  hard  master.  You  may  now  go  to  your  duties." 

At  the  dinner-table  Capt.  Shields  told  Dr.  A and 

his  wife  how  the  plot  was  discovered,  and  what  Mr.  Helm 

had  heard.  Dr.  A remarked  that  he  never  liked  Mr. 

Head :  he  saw  things  on  their  passage  to  San  Francisco 
that  led  him  to  dislike  the  man.  "  One  night,  while  Mr. 
Mainstay  was  sick,  I  went  out  upon  deck,  and  heard  him 


68  THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE." 

tell  some  of  the  men  he  did  not  believe,  if  he  had  fell 
from  aloft,  instead  of  that  psalm-singing  Bill,  that  the 
captain's  wife  would  have  nursed  him  as  she  had  done 
him  (old  Bill,  as  he  called  him)."  Alice  replied  by  say 
ing  that  she  would  have  done  the  same  thing  for  any  man 
on  board :  she  somehow  looked  upon  them  as  all  being 
members  of  their  ship's  family  ;  and  in  that  respect  she 
had  no  partiality  for  one  more  than  another.  "  That  is 
spoken  just  like  yourself,  my  dear  Alice,"  said  Capt. 

Shields.  Turning  to  Dr.  A ,  he  said,  "Our  sweet 

little  daughter  has  not  been  named  yet,  though  she  is 

more  than  two  months  old."  Dr.  A •  said,  "If  she 

were  my  daughter,  I  should  have  called  her  Mary  Alice  as 
soon  as  she  was  born,  in  honor  of  this  noble  floating  pal 
ace  where  she  first  came  into  existence."  Alice  said  she 
did  not  see  how  she  could  have  any  other  name,  without 
casting  some  reflections  upon  her  aunt,  mother,  and  their 
beautiful  floating  home.  Capt.  Shields  said  that  name 
was  the  sweetest  name  to  him  in  the  world  ;  and  he  wanted 
it  perpetuated. 

During  their  passage  thus  far,  Dick  and  Jim  had  both 
found  their  Saviour,  and  were  rejoicing  in  his  forgiving 
love.  All  hands  were  now  bus}*  in  painting  their  ship 
inside,  for  they  were  drawing  near  to  their  intended  port. 
A  few  days  after,  land  was  discovered  ;  and  that  morning 
they  had  caught  another  porpoise,  for  which  they  were 
very  thankful ;  for  ever}'  thing  fresh  in  the  shape  of  pigs 
and  chickens  had  been  gone  for  more  than  a  week,  and 
the  porpoise  came  very  acceptable  indeed.  In  the  after 
noon  they  took  a  pilot,  and  about  sunset  they  anchored 
in  the  harbor  of  Melbourne,  after  a  passage  of  eighty-four 
days  from  San  Francisco.  Arriving  June  12,  1855,  the 
next  day  the  prisoners  were  carried  on  shore,  to  be  sent 

to  B for  their  trial,  with  all  the  testimony  of  their 

guilt,  taken  under  oath,  to  be  sent  with  them.  In  little 
more  than  a  week  the  ship  was  discharged,  and  began  to 
take  in  a  freight  for  London. 

While  they  were  there,  an  epidemic  broke  out ;  and 
Capt.  Shields  forbade  his  men  going  on  shore,  fearing  it 
might  be  brought  on  board  his  ship  ;  and  Dr.  A sec 
onded  this  judicious  caution.  He  talked  with  his  men, 


THE   SHIP   "MARY   ALICE."  69 

and  told  them  that  he  was  obliged  to  be  on  shore  to 
attend  to  the  business  of  his  ship  ;  and  Sam  said  there 
was  not  a  man  on  board  "  The  Mary  Alice  "  that  would 
do  any  thing  to  displease  their  dear  captain.  Capt. 
Shields  shipped  three  new  men  in  the  places  of  the  muti 
neers.  A  few  days  before  sailing,  a  gentleman  came  on 
board,  and  asked  if  he  could  take  passage  with  him,  with 
his  wife  and  his  brother.  Capt.  Shields  informed  him 
that  he  could  accommodate  them  ;  and  they  soon  came  on 
board,  and  were  introduced  to  Dr.  A —  -  and  wife,  and 
to  his  own  wife  and  cousin,  and  to  his  officers.  They 
sailed  July  6,  only  remaining  there  twenty-four  da}"s. 
Capt.  Shields  said  his  despatch  was  wholly  owing  to  the 
epidemic,  which  he  feared  might  be  contagious.  The 
new  passengers  were  surprised  to  hear  the  captain  ask 
God  to  bless  their  food  before  they  ate.  At  four  bells 
thej*  were  still  more  surprised  to  see  the  whole  crew,  and 
the  three  new  men  with  them,  come  aft  to  attend  their 
daily  meeting.  It  was  a  new  and  a  novel  sight  to  them  ; 
but,  when  the}*  heard  these  old  tars  of  Neptune  sing  and 
pray  as  they  did  that  night,  they  were  awestruck  and 
attentive.  On  Sunday  they  had  a  very  interesting  ser 
vice  ;  for  Mr.  Albert  Shields,  the  elder  brother  of  the  two 
new  passengers,  said,  "I  believe  God  has  sent  this  ship 
to  Melbourne  to  save  nry  soul.  I  experienced  religion  in 
Limerick,  where  I  was  born,  more  than  thirty  years  ago  ; 
and  I  well  remember  my  uncle  John's  advice.  He  said, 
'Albert,  don't  leave  your  father.  I  have  no  father  to 
leave,  and  shall  go  to  America.'  But  in  a  few  years 
afterwards  I  left  my  home,  and  came  to  Melbourne  ;  and 
I  have  made  an  earthly  fortune  ;  but  oh,  how  dark  and 
drear  are  my  prospects  for  heaven,  which  once  were  so 
bright  and  promising !  I  hope  every  praying  soul  on 
board  this  ship  will  daily  pfa}r  that  God  ma}*  forgive  my 
sins,  and  let  his  love  again  shine  in  upon  my  benighted 
soul." 

The  younger  brother  said  he  had  only  been  a  little  more 
than  a  }*ear  with  his  brother,  and  that  he  was  enjo}*ing 
much  of  Jesus'  love,  and  was  much  pleased  that  he  was 
going  home  in  a  praying  ship.  After  the  meeting  was 
dismissed,  the  ever-inquisitive  Alice  said  to  Mr.  Albert 


70  THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE." 

Shields,  "I  think  you  said,  sir,  that  jour  uncle,  who 
came  to  America,  was  named  John  Shields?"  He  re 
plied,  saj'ing,  "Yes.  And  my  father  said  he  guessed 
John  would  do  well ;  for  he  had  learned  a  blacksmith's 
trade,  and  had  plenty  of  work." 

"Annie  dear,  please  call  my  husband."  When  he 
came  in,  she  said,  "  My  dear  Johnny,  permit  me  to  intro 
duce  to  you  two  more  of  your  own  cousins  ;  and  the  two 
men  clasped  hands;  and  the  captain  said,  "  Alice  dear, 
what  does  this  all  mean?"  And  Alice  said,  "  Your  dear 

father   came   from   Limerick   to    B ,    and   went    and 

learned  a  blacksmith's  trade,  and  so  wrote  to  his  brother 
there,  informing  him  of  the  fact.  One  question  I  wish  to 
ask,  which  will  settle  the  whole  matter  at  once.  What 
was  your  grandmother  Shields' s  given  name?"  He  re 
plied,  "It  was  Eunice." — "Then  we  are  cousins,  sure 
enough.  I  have  often  heard  my  father  say  his  mother  was 
Aunt  Eunice  to  almost  everybody." — "  Well,  Alice  dear, 
do  you  think  you  will  be  fortunate  enough  to  find  any 
more  new  cousins  for  your  husband  ?  "  —  "  Well,  Johnny, 
I  can  tell  you  better  after  we  leave  London,  and  see  if 
you  will  be  kind  enough  to  furnish  me  with  the  neces 
sary  material.  You  know  I  cannot  make  brick  without 
straw." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

"TTTHILE  the  new  cousin-making  was  progressing, 
VV  "  The  Mary  Alice"  was  progressing  with  rapidity 
towards  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ;  and  Alice  perceived  that 
young  Ernest  Shields  and  Annie  had  become  very  intimate 
with  each  other,  and  playfully  remarked  to  Annie  one 
day,  that  she  thought  ere  long  she  would  become  a  double 
cousin  to  her.  Annie  blushed,  saying,  "Dear  Alice,  you 
had  better  wait  till  you  see  the  marriage-ceremony  per 
formed  before  you  count  on  that  relationship."  Alice 
merely  remarked,  "We  shall  see:  time  ultimately  dis 
closes  events." 

Mary  Alice,  jun.,  had  become  the  plaything  of  all  on 
board.  When  the  child  was  on  deck  in  pleasant  weather, 
every  tar  in  the  ship  would  catch  the  dear  child  up  in 
his  arms,  and  give  her  a  kiss,  just  as  though  she  belonged 
to  all  hands  on  board.  Mr.  Carter  seemed  to  be  the 
child's  favorite.  He  would  sometimes  enclose  her  in  his 
brawny  arms,  and  carry  her  for  an  hour  at  a  time  when  he 
was  idle.  But  an  event  occurred  some  fifteen  days  after 
they  sailed,  that  filled  every  soul  on  board  that  ship  with 
painful  anxietjr.  Capt.  Shields  was  suddenly  severely 
seized  with  a  high  fever  and  with  terrible  cramp-spasms. 

Dr.  A was  soon  at  his  side,  and  told  his  wife  not  to 

fear.  He  thought,  if  he  could  throw  all  care  and  respon 
sibility  aside,  he  could  soon  relieve  him.  Alice  said, 
"  Now,  Johnny  dear,  I  will  keep  your  reckoning  up  every 
day,  and  report  our  position  to  you  every  day ;  and  you 
know,  Johnny,  that  you  can  trust  your  Alice  to  navigate 
the  ship  without  infringing  upon  any  of  the  rights  of  Mr. 
Helm,  your  first  officer." 

At  evening  Mr.  Helm  conducted  the  meeting ;  and  it 
was  a  prayer-meeting  indeed,  and  such  a  one  as  never 
was  known  before  on  board  "The  Mary  Alice."  Never 


72  THE   SHIP   "MAKY  ALICE." 

before  did  Alice  realize  the  deep,  tender,  and  ardent 
affection  those  men  all  had  for  her  dear  husband.  She 
told  her  husband,  some  time  after  that,  she  should  love 
sailors  as  long  as  she  lived.  "  Why,  after  Sam,  and  Joe, 
and  Dick,  and  Mr.  Boom,  and  Mr.  Carter,  and  Mr.  Main 
stay,  and  our  dear  Mr.  Helm,  had  prayed,  I  felt  that  I 
understood  that  passage  of  Scripture  which  says,  '  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth  violence,  and  the  violent 
take  it  by  force.'  Why,  Johnny,  I  never  heard  or  saw 
such  pleading  importunity  in  my  life.  It  was  like  good 
old  Jacob  wrestling  with  the  angel,  with  an  unshaking 
confidence  that  could  not  be  turned  away  ;  and  somehow 
that  passage  of  Scripture  came  into  my  mind,  '  All  things 
are  possible  to  him  that  believeth ;  only  believe  and  he 
shall  live.'  And,  Johnny  dear,  from  that  praying-hour  I 
felt  sure  of  }Tour  restoration  to  health." 

It  was  true  he  rapidly  began  to  amend.  They  had 
just  got  soundings  on  the  bank  of  the  Cape,  and  the  next 
day  they  had  safely  passed  it,  and  were  pressing  their 
way  towards  St.  Helen's,  or  what  is  called  St.  Helena, 
where  they  arrived  after  a  passage  of  fift}"-two  days 
from  Melbourne.  They  arrived  Aug.  26,  1855.  In  eight 
hours  they  made  all  sail  for  home.  Capt.  Shields  had  so 
far  recovered  as  to  take  the  charge  of  their  meetings 
again.  The  three  men  that  came  on  board  at  Mel 
bourne,  in  seeing  the  answers  of  prayer  in  regard  to 
their  captain,  were  deeply  impressed  ;  and  in  a  few  days, 
through  the  instruction  of  Joe,  Sam,  and  Dick,  they  were 
led  to  trust  in  Jesus,  and  to  rejoice  in  his  pardoning  love. 

It  very  soon  became  evident  to  all  in  the  cabin  that 
Mr.  Ernest  Shields  was  earnestly  pressing  his  suit  with 
Miss  Annie  Bird;  and  Alice  said  one  day,  "I  expect, 
when  we  arrive  in  London,  that  my  now  blissful  Bird 
will  take  wings,  and  fly  into  a  bosom  of  Shields  for  pro 
tection." —  "Well,  my  dear  cousin  Alice,  do  you  not 
think  I  should  find  ample  pz'otection  in  such  a  Shield?" 

"Well,  Annie  dear,  I  have  unbounded  confidence  in  my 
Shields  ;  and,  if  your  Shields  is  as  good  as  mine,  I  think 
he  is  rightly  called  Ernest."  —  "Now,  cousin  Alice,  be 
sober ;  for  I  want  your  advice.  Mr.  Shields  has  made 
proposals  to  me  ;  and  I  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  give 


THE   SHIP   "MAEY   ALICE."  73 

him  a  final  reply  until  I  had  first  laid  the  whole  matter 
before  you  and  your  husband."  —  "  Johnny  is  at  liberty 
now:  please  tell  him  I  wish  to  see  him  in  my  room." 
She  went  and  called  him,  and  in  a  few  minutes  they  were 
closeted  alone. 

Alice  told  him  of  Ernest's  proposal.  He  then  said  he 
had  been  having  a  conversation  with  Albert  relative  to 
this  same  matter,  and  he  made  a  very  rigid  inquiry  in 
regard  to  her  character,  accomplishments,  &c.  ;  and, 
after  giving  his  consent  to  me,  he  said  he  would  see  his 
brother,  and  consent  to  their  union,  adding,  "  I  have 
promised  to  give  him  ten  thousand  dollars  to  begin  the 
world  with  if  he  married  a  woman  that  I  could  approve 
of."  —  "Well,  then,"  said  Alice,  "as  soon  as  we  get 
in  London  I  will  draw  upon  my  father,  and  give  her  a 
splendid  outfit." 

They  were  now  approaching  their  destined  haven  very 
rapidly,  daily  passing  ships  and  steamers ;  and  they 
exchanged  signals  with  one  of  our  steam  packet-ships 
bound  to  London,  and  gave  the  name  of  their  ship.  As 
the  wind  was  ahead,  the  steamer  was  soon  out  of  sight. 
The  next  morning  the}'  took  a  pilot,  and  he  very  soon 
brought  the  ship  to  anchor  at  Gravesend.  They  had 
not  anchored  more  than  an  hour,  before  a  steam-tug  was 
seen  approaching  them.  She  soon  hailed  the  ship,  and 
asked  if  they  wanted  steam.  Capt.  Shields  said,  "Yes: 
come  alongside."  She  was  no  sooner  securely  fastened 

to  "  The  Mary  Alice  "  than  Mr.  L walked  on  board. 

Alice  ran  to  him,  and  threw  her  arms  around  his  neck, 
exclaiming,  "My  dear  father!"  She  was  so  much  over 
come  by  the  unexpected  joyous  surprise,  that  she  fainted 
in  his  arms.  But  Dr.  A ,  who  was  an  old  acquaint 
ance  of  Mr.  L ,  came  to  the  rescue  ;  and  Alice  was 

soon  restored  again. 

Mr.  L then  handed  Capt.  Shields  two  letters. 

One  was  from  his  dear  sister  Mar}' :  the  other  was 
directed  to  Miss  Annie  B.  Bird,  to  the  care  of  Capt.  John 
Shields,  commander  of  the  ship  "Mary  Alice,"  at 
London. 

We  will  give  our  readers  a  brief  synopsis  of  Annie's 
letter  from  the  Kev.  Mr.  B ,  whom  her  mother  had 


74  THE   SHIP   "MAET  ALICE." 

appointed  executor  of  her  will.  His  letter  ran  thus : 
"Miss  Bird,  jour  mother,  when  she  made  her  will,  ap 
pointed  me  her  executor.  Your  dear  mother  died  very 
suddenly  the  1st  of  last  April,  and  she  has  left  to  you 
all  her  property.  Her  husband  died  on  his  passage  to 
England,  where  he  was  then  going  to  receive  a  large 
estate  which  had  fallen  to  him  by  the  death  of  a  very 
rich  uncle ;  and  his  death  had  prevented  his  widow  from 
receiving  any  thing  from  that  vast  property  until  only  a 
month  before  her  death.  She  called  upon  me  for  counsel, 
and  she  did  reserve  and  give  several  hundred  dollars  for 
benevolent  objects,  and,  had  she  lived,  would  have  given 
more.  She  died  very  suddenly ;  and  her  last  words 
were,  '  Dear  friend,  protect  and  save  nr^  dear  Annie.' 
I  now  hold  in  my  hand  the  keys  of  those  treasures,  which 
are  all  yours  ;  and  I  await  your  orders  for  their  invest 
ment  or  disposal,  till  I  can  turn  them  over  to  you  their 
rightful  owner," 

This  announcement  called  all  the  Shieldses  and  Mr. 

L together,  to  advise  Annie  what  reply  she  should 

make  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  B 's  letter.  Mr.  Albert  Shields 

and  Mr.  L were  both  thorough-going  practical  busi 
ness-men  and  good  financiers.  One  proposed,  that  after 
their  marriage,  which  was  now  soon  to  be  celebrated,  they 

take  the  first  steamer  for  B .  To  this  Annie  said  she 

could  never  consent :  she  could  not  leave  her  dear  cousin 

Alice  and  Johnny  ;  and  Mr.  L said,  "  I  think  it  would 

be  well  for  Annie  to  telegraph  hirn  to  keep  all  the  mone}rs 
not  invested  in  the  banks  until  her  return."  The  despatch 
was  sent,  and  in  a  few  days  a  satisfactory  answer  received. 

Two  da}*s  after,  "  The  Mary  Alice  "  was  covered  with 
bunting  from  the  truck  to  the  deck  ;  and  on  the  afternoon 
of  Nov.  1  Mr.  Ernest  Shields  was  married  to  Miss  Annie 
Bliss  Bird.  After  the  ceremony  had  been  performed,  Alice 
threw  her  arms  around  Annie's  neck,  and,  giving  her 
a  telling  kiss,  exclaimed,  "My  dear  blissful  bird,  I  re 
joice  in  believing  you  will  be  ever  shielded  in  the  future." 
Annie  expressed  her  thanks  for  good  wishes ;  and  one 
after  another  came  to  steal  a  kiss  from  her  rosy  lips. 
Finally  Mr.  Albert  Shields  came,  and  threw  his  strong 
arms  around  the  neck  of  the  beautiful  bird,  exclaiming, 


THE  SHIP   "  MAEY  ALICE."  75 

"  My  dear  jroung  sister,  the  first  and  all  the  sister  I  have, 
accept  a  brother's  love,  a  brother's  confidence,  and  his  life 
long  sympathy  for  you,  which,  under  God,  have  been  the 
means  of  my  restoration  to  the  forgiving  love  of  that 
Saviour  from  whom  I  had  so  far  wandered  away."  Capt. 
Shields  embraced  Annie,  and  said,  "  My  own  dear  double 
cousin,  I  cannot  find  words  to  express  the  joy  which  this 
hour  affords  me  ;  and  my  gratitude  toward  the  Bestower 
of  all  these  joys  cannot  be  told  by  any  human  tongue. 
After  partaking  of  a  princely  collation,  provided  by  Mr. 

L ,  owner  of  "The  Mary  Alice,"  the  wedding-party 

retired. 

In  a  few   more   days  their  cargo  was  all   discharged. 

Mr.  L said  to  Capt.  Shields,  "Freights  from  London 

to  B are  very  low  indeed ;  and  it  would  be  of  great 

value,  in  preserving  the  frame  and  timbers  of  '  The  Mary 
Alice,'  to  go  to  St.  Ubes,  and  load  her  with  salt, "which 

is  in  very  fair  demand  in  B ."     Capt.  Shields  said  it 

would  be  an  excellent  plan.  He  then  remarked,  "She  is, 
I  believe,  the  best  ship  now  afloat  upon  the  ocean.  I 
hope  I  shall  not  worship  her ;  but  she  seems  more  to  me 
like  a  living  thing  than  any  ship  I  ever  saw,  and  she  is 
almost  idolized  by  all  my  men." 

Before  sailing,  Alice  wrote  her  sister  Mary,  acquainting 
her  with  her  new-found  cousins,  and  of  Annie's  marriage 
to  Mr.  Ernest  Shields,  her  own  cousin,  and  giving  her  a 
bird's-eye  view  of  their  voyage  generally.  Mr.  Albert 
Shields  fulfilled  his  promise  to  his  brother  Ernest,  giving 
him  ten  thousand  dollars  to  begin  with.  The  final  leave- 
taking  between  Albert  Shields  and  his  wife,  and  his 
brother  Ernest  and  his  dear  Annie,  was  very  touching  and 
tender. 

Every  thing  being  ready,  "The  Mary  Alice"  sailed 
from  London  for  St.  Ubes  in  November ;  and,  after  a 
passage  of  ten  days,  they  arrived  there  in  safety.  Mr. 

L one  day,  promenading  with  his  daughter,  said  to 

her,  "  Alice,  your  husband  embodies  more  truly  excellent 
traits  of  character  than  I  think  I  ever  saw  before  in  any 
one  human  composition.  Mr.  Albert  Shields  spoke  of 
the  quiet  and  yet  decided  manner  in  which  he  stopped  that 
mutiny  without  any  one's  knowing  it,  — in  the  night,  too, 


76  THE   SHIP   "MAEY  ALICE." 

—  and  said  he  was  astonished  at  his  far-seeing  sagacity, 
his  ever-read}*  inventive  ingenuity,  and  his  decision,  and, 
above  all,  his  daily,  living,  active,  practical  piety.  I  do 
not  blame  3*011  for  being  proud  of  him." 

"  Well,  my  dear  father,  in  order  to  know  how  to  appreci 
ate  Johnny's  value,  you  must  live  with  him.  No  living 
woman  can  be  more  loving,  tender,  kind,  sympathetic, 
and  forbearing  than  he  is ;  and,  when  an  emergency 
occurs,  he  rises  at  once,  and  towers  above  every  difficulty 
that  is  connected  with  it."  Her  father  remarked  he  did 
not  know  but  he  loved  Johnny  more  than  he  did  her. 
"  That  is  right,  my  dear  father.  Go  on.  The  more  you 
love  my  Johnny,  the  more  of  it  I  shall  get ;  for  you  never 
saw  a  couple  more  unselfishly  one  than  Johnny  and  myself. 
He  but  seldom  attempts  to  do  any  thing  without  consulting 
me,  unless  he  has  a  mutiny  to  quell  in  the  night."  Dr. 
A and  his  wife  soon  joined  them  upon  the  quarter 
deck  ;  and  the  doctor  said  to  Mr.  L ,  "I  wish  to 

congratulate  you,  my  life-long  friend,  in  your  noble  ship, 
'  The  Mary  Alice,'  and  in  her  still  more  noble  com 
mander.  I  have  been  with  him  the  whole  voyage  round, 
sir,  and  have  seen  him  under  all  the  varied  and  some 
times  trying  circumstances  which  have  environed  him, 
and  have  never  seen  him,  at  an}*  period  during  this  long 
voyage  of  more  than  a  year,  at  loss  for  a  moment  what  to 
do,  and  how  to  do  it.  His  prudent  and  thoughtful  sa 
gacity  in  Melbourne,  while  there,  when  that  terrible  epi 
demic  was  raging,  is  one  instance.  He  would  not  allow 
an}*  person  to  leave  the  ship  but  himself ;  neither  would 
he  allow  any  person  to  come  on  board  from  the  shore  ;  and, 
by  so  doing,  he  saved  all  but  himself  from  that  fearful 
scourge." 

"  The  Mary  Alice  "  sailed  from  St.  Ubes  for  B Dec. 

6,  1855  ;  and  Capt.  Shields  thought  it  best  to  take  what 
is  called  the  middle  passage,  so  as  not  to  have  his  men 
exposed  to  the  more  severe  weather  of  a  more  northern 
passage  in  mid-winter.  After  passing  the  Azores  one 
morning,  with  a  fresh  gale  blowing  from  the  south-west, 
the  ship  being  under  double-reefed  topsails,  and  a  heavy, 
deep-rolling  sea  from  the  westward,  —  which  is  most  always 
found  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  —  a  man  aloft  sang  out,  "  Sail 


THE  SHIP   "MARY   ALICE."  77 

ho  !  about  two  points  of  the  lee-bow,  sir."  A  report  was 
instantly  made  to  Capt.  Shields,  who  ordered  the  ship 
kept  off  two  points.  Capt.  Shields  took  his  glass,  and, 
after  looking  a  moment,  said  to  his  officer,  "Have  the 
larbord  quarter-boat  ready  for  lowering,  sir:  she  may 
need  assistance."  —  "Her  main  and  mizzen  masts  are 
both  gone,  sir."  —  "  Send  Mr.  Carter  to  me  at  once,  sir." 
Mr.  Carter  came  aft ;  and  Capt.  Shields  said  to  Mr.  Car 
ter,  "  I  want  you  to  call  Joe,  Sam,  Dick,  and  Jim,  the 
most  experienced  men  on  board ;  go  to  that  wrecked 
stranger,  and  afford  all  the  assistance  they  ma}7  need ; 
keep  two  men  in  the  boat  to  take  care  of  her ;  go  on 
board,  and  then  act  according  to  your  own  judgment." 

"The  Mary  Alice  "  was  hove  to  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  wrecked  ship.  The  boat  was  lowered,  and  they 
came  under  her  lee.  Mr.  Carter  found  she  rolled  so 
deep,  that  he  could  not  board  her  on  the  side,  without 
swamping  his  boat.  He  ordered  his  men  to  pull  up  under 
her  stern  ;  and  the  brave  Mr.  Jack  Carter,  determining 
to  accomplish  his  mission,  laid  hold  of  a  rope  hanging 
over  the  stern  of  the  wreck,  and  in  a  moment  was  on 
board.  He  said,  "Now,  bo}'s,  keep  clear  of  the  ship  till 
I  see  whether  there  is  any  living  soul  here  to  tell  their 
sad  tale  of  woe."  Having  given  his  men  their  orders,  he 
started  to  go  forward,  and  saw  a  man  slipping  down  from 
the  foretop  on  a  spar  rope  ;  and,  when  within  ten  feet 
of  the  deck,  he  fell.  Mr.  Carter  was  at  his  side  in  a  mo 
ment  ;  but  the  man  was  so  much  reduced  and  exhausted, 
that  he  could  not  speak.  Mr.  Carter  took  him  in  his 
brawn}'  arms  as  though  he  had  been  an  infant,  carried  him 
to  the  stern,  and  ordered  the  boat  to  come  as  near  as  it 
was  safe  for  them.  He  then  took  his  knife,  and  cut  off 
as  much  rope  as  he  needed,  and  threw  one  end  into  the 
boat;  and  Joe  caught  it.  He  then  said,  "I  will  lower 
this  man  down,  and  bend  the  other  end  of  this  rope  to 
him,  and  3-011  can  haul  him  into  the  boat.  Now,  do  just 
as  I  order,  and  we  will  save  this  poor  sufferer."  Mr. 
Carter  lowered  him  down,  and  Joe  in  a  moment  had  him 
in  his  arms.  Mr.  Carter  said,  "Shove  off  now,  boj-s  : 
don't  mind  me."  Joe  said,  "You  are  not  going  to  stop 
there,  sir,  are  you,  Mr.  Carter?"  —  "No.  Shove  off 


78  THE   SHIP   "  MAKY  ALICE." 

that  boat."  They  obeyed  orders  ;  and  Mr.  Carter  leaped 
into  the  sea,  swam  to  the  boat,  and  in  a  moment  was  on 
board.  "Out  oars,  boys,  and  pull  for  the  ship." 

In  a  few  moments  they  pulled  to  the  leeward  of  their 
ship,  hooked  on  their  boat,  which  was  hoisted  up,  with  all 
the  men  in  her.  The  man  was  taken  out  upon  deck,  and 
Dr.  A again  came  to  the  rescue.  The  man  was  un 
conscious.  Dr.  A gave  him  something,  and  in  a  few 

moments  he  discovered  that  life  was  not  extinct.  In  the 
mean  time  "The  Mary  Alice"  was  close-hauled  b}"  the 
wind,  leaving  the  wreck  far  astern.  Ver}-  soon  it  was 
seen  that  the  rescued  man  was  making  every  effort  he 

could  to  speak  ;  and  finally  Dr.  A understood  him  to 

say  there  were  two  men  in  the  foretop.  This  intelligence 
was  reported  to  Capt.  Shields,  who  at  once  ordered  Mr. 
Helm  to  get  ready  for  tacking  ship,  remarking,  "They 
shall  be  saved  if  it  is  possible.  —  Mr.  Helm,  are  you. 
read}',  sir?  " — "  All  read}",  sir."  He  ordered  the  man  at 
the  wheel  to  put  his  helm  hard  to  port,  and  exclaimed, 
"Hard  a  lee,  sir!"  "The  Mar}r  Alice,"  always  obedi 
ent  to  her  helm,  came  immediately  up.  When  head  to 
the  wind,  the  captain  exclaimed,  "Topsails  haul!"  In 
a  moment  the  main  and  mizzen  topsails  were  braced  en 
tirely  opposite  to  what  they  were  before.  The  captain 
then  cried  out,  "Let  go  and  haul,  sir!  Brace  those 
head-yards  sharp  up,  sir,  and  trim  every  thing  snug  by 
the  wind !  " 

The  wreck  was  then  some  three  miles  awa}'.  The  cap 
tain  then  ordered  the  same  boat,  with  the  same  crew, 
ready  to  try,  if  it  were  possible,  to  save  those  other  two 
men.  The  man  had  so  far  recovered,  that  Alice  wanted 
him  brought  into  the  cabin,  where  she.  could  take  care  of 

him.  He  had  already  told  Dr.  A that  the  two  men 

were  alive  when  he  left  the  foretop,  but  were  so  weak 
they  could  not  help  themselves.  "  The  Mary  Alice  "  was 
again  hove  to  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  windward  of 
the  wreck.  The  boat  was  lowered  in  safety,  although  the 
sea  was  running  very  high  indeed.  Mr.  Carter  requested 
one  more  man  ;  for  it  would  take  two  men  to  take  care  of 
the  boat.  He  then  ordered  Mr.  Mainstay  to  go  with 
them. 


THE   SHIP   "MAKY   ALICE."  79 

After  coming  under  the  stern  of  the  wreck,  Mr.  Carter 
said,  "  I  want  Mr.  Mainsta}"  and  Joe  to  go  on  board  with 
me  ;  and  you,  Dick  and  Sam,  take  care  of  the  boat." 
These  three  fearless  men  in  a  few  minutes  were  on 
board  of  the  wreck,  and  went  forward  together.  Mr. 
Carter  said,  "Mr.  Mainstay,  I  wish  you  and  Joe  to  go 
into  that  fore  top,  and  bend  a  rope  to  them,  and  lower 
them  down  carefully  to  me,  and  I  will  receive  them." 
In  a  few  minutes  one  was  received  by  Mr.  Carter,  and 
was  laid  in  as  safe  a  place  as  he  could  find,  for  the  sea 
was  making  a  complete  breach  over  the  wrecked  ship. 
In  a  few  moments  more  the  other  man  was  in  Mr.  Car 
ter's  arms  ;  and  the  two  men  hastened  down  from  the 
top.  They  carried  the  two  men  to  the  stern,  as  before  ; 
and  Joe  and  Mr.  Mainstay  got  into  the  boat  to  receive 
the  men.  Mr.  Carter  lowered  first  one,  and  then  the 
other,  into  the  boat,  and  got  in  himself.  They  then 
pulled  for  the  ship,  and  were  all  very  soon  on  board 
"  The  Mary  Alice,"  and  she  again  was  put  on  her  way 

towards  her  destined  haven.  Dr.  A took  charge  of 

the  two  men,  and  gave  them  something  that  soon  pro 
duced  signs  of  life  ;  and  Alice  soon  made  room  for  them 
in  the  cabin.  She  said,  "These  poor  fellows  have  suf 
fered  enough :  I  will  give  them  my  own  bed,  and  I  can 
lie  on  one  of  the  sofas.  They  shall  have  my  time,  my 
care,  and  my  praj-ers  ;  for  I  expect  they  have  a  narrative 
to  disclose  when  they  get  able  to  do  it,  if  the}r  live.  I 
believe  our  dear  old  tars  who  have  perilled  their  lives  to 
save  these  men  will  to-night  add  their  faith  in  prayer  to 
their  self-sacrificing  labors  ;  and  the  two  united  God  will 
not  turn  away." 

Mr.  L was  perfectly  delighted  in  seeing  the  prac 
tical  piety  of  his  two  only  dear  children.  He  said  he  had 
not  taken  so  much  comfort,  and  so  enjoyed  himself  spirit 
ually,  as  he  had  done  since  they  left  London,  for  many 
years  ;  and  he  added,  "  My  dear  Johnnj',  I  think  I  shall 
go  with  you  on  your  next  vo3rage."  —  "Nothing  would 
please  me  better,  my  dear  father."  —  "After  we  arrive 

in  B ,  I  intend  to  give  }"ou  a  full  bill  of  sale  of  '  The 

Mary  Alice,'  as  your  wedding-present."  —  "I  thank  you, 
my  ever  dear  father,  and  hope  the  confidence  you  repose 


80  THE   SHIP   "  MAKY  ALICE." 

in  me  may  never  be  regretted.  Ever  since  Jesus  par 
doned  my  sins  on  that  never-to-be-forgotten  night,  it  has 
been  my  daily  desire  to  do  something  for  Him  who  has 
done  so  much  for  me  ;  and  during  this  long  voyage  I 
have  tried,  as  far  as  possible,  to  carry  out  the  principle 
of  love  to  God  and  man  to  all  within  the  circle  of  my 
Chip's  family." 

Mary  Alice,  jun.,  occupied  many  of  the  leisure  hours 

of  her  loving  grandfather  L .  One  day  they  saw  a 

schooner,  with  her  ensign  hoisted  union  down  ;  and  Capt. 
Shields  said  she  wanted  help  of  some  kind  he  had  no 
doubt.  "The  Mary  Alice"  soon  came  up  with  her,  and 
hailed,  "  What  schooner  is  that?  and  do  you  want  aid?  " 
The  reply  was,  "It  is  the  schooner  'Rapid,'  from  Bar- 

badoes,  bound  to  B ;  and  we  are  in  want  of  water." 

Capt.  Shields  ordered  a  cask  filled,  slung,  and  thrown 
overboard.  A  boat  was  then  lowered,  and  the  cask 
towed  to  the  schooner,  for  which  they  seemed  very  grate 
ful  ;  and  the  boat  returned,  and  was  hoisted  up,  and  all 
sail  was  made  upon  "  The  Mary  Alice,"  pressing  her 
through  the  brin}"  deep  with  grandeur  and  rapidity. 

Their  evening  meetings  were  very  interesting ;  and  Mr. 
L —  -  enjoyed  them  as  much  as  any  person  on  board. 

He  said  to  Dr.  A ,  "  I  shall  never  forget  the  pra}"er- 

meeting  they  had  the  evening  after  meeting  that  wrecked 
ship.  When  I  heard  those  hard}"  sons  of  the  ocean  plead 
as  they  did  with  God  to  restore  to  life  and  health  those 
the}"  had  that  da}T  saved  from  starvation  and  death,  and 
saw  those  great  brin}'  tears  trickling  down  their  weather- 
beaten  faces,  I  felt  like  hiding  nry  face  in  shame  at  my 
own  want  of  that  deep  sj'mpathy  which  I  saw  manifested 
b}"  Capt.  Shields  and  his  men,  whom  he  so  much  loves. 
I  never  knew  before  that  sailors  had  such  deep  and 

ardent  feelings  for  suffering  humanity."  Dr.  A 

replied,  saying,  "I  have  learned  more  of  the  loveliness 
and  self-sacrificing  traits  of  their  character  than  I  ever 
knew  before.  The}'  have  a  frank  open-heartedness, 
associated  with  a  woman's  tenderness.  They  are  bold, 
daring,  and  brave  ;  and  yet  their  tears  will  flow  in  a 
moment  at  seeing  human  sufferings.  I  know  of  no  class 
of  people  who  possess  so  many  excellent  traits  of  charac- 


THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE."  81 

ter  as  our  seamen ;  and  yet  how  much  they  are  abused, 
neglected,  and  despised  by  many  of  our  people!" — 

"Alas!  it  is  too  true,  Dr.  A .  But  I  confess  to 

you  frankly,  my  dear  sir,  that  I  was  not  aware,  till  on 
this  passage,  that  they  possessed  so  many  very  excellent 
traits  of  character."  —  "Neither  was  I;  but  this  long 
and  very  pleasant  voyage  has  banished  all  doubts  in  that 
direction,  and  fully  converted  me  to  the  espousal  of  the 
sailor's  cause  all  the  rest  of  m}T  life." — "  Well,  how  are 

those  three  men  getting  along?  "  Dr.  A said,  "  They 

are  getting  along  nicely,  and  will  soon  be  well ;  and  I 
think  they  will  have  a  sad  tale  of  woe  to  tell  as  soon  as 
they  are  able." 

The  sabbath  that  next  dawned  upon  them  was  indeed 
a  lovely  day.  At  ten  A.M.  the  bell  had  no  sooner  struck 
four  than  all  hands  gathered  aft.  After  singing,  prayer, 
and  reading  the  Scriptures  by  Capt.  Shields,  he  then  re 
marked  that  the  three  rescued  men  would  meet  with 

them,  and,  by  the  permission  of  Dr.  A ,  would  tell 

the  whole  narrative  of  their  vo}*age. 

One  of  them  arose,  and  said,  "The  ship  'Rambler' 
sailed  from  St.  John,  N.B.,  Dec.  6,  commanded  by  Capt. 

H .  We  had  two  mates,  cook,  steward,  and  ten 

men.  She  was  laden  with  timber  and  plank,  bound  for 
Liverpool.  After  passing  Cape  Sable  in  the  Gulf,  we 
experienced  some  heavy  north-east  gales,  which  caused 
unusual  heavy  labor  for  our  ship  ;  and  we  found  she  had 
sprung  a  leak.  We  afterwards1  had  strong  westerly  gales 
and  a  heavy  sea ;  and  we  found  that  the  water  in  the 
ship's  hold  was  gaining  upon  us,  with  both  pumps  going 

night  and  day.  Capt.  H ordered  the  mainmast  to 

be  cut  away,  hoping  to  relieve  the  ship  in  some  measure. 
The  mainmast  fell  with  an  awful  crash  upon  the  mizzen- 
mast,  and  broke  it  off  about  fifteen  feet  from  the  deck ; 
and  we  cut  away  the  rigging  and  spars,  that  we  might 
clear  them  from  the  ship.  We  kept  the  ship  before  the 
wind  under  a  close-reefed  foretopsail  and  reefed  fore 
sail  ;  and,  water-logged  as  we  were,  we  could  only  make 
about  three  miles  per  hour.  Being  lumber-laden,  we 
knew  she  could  not  sink  ;  and  we  hoped  we  might  possibly 
get  across  the  Atlantic,  if  she  did  not  come  to  pieces. 


82  THE   SHIP   "MAKY  ALICE." 

As  near  as  I  can  remember,  about  ten  days  after,  the 
wind  changed  to  the  north-east,  and  blew  a  furious  gale. 
Before  "we  could  furl  our  foresail  and  foretopsail,  the 
wind,  which  became  very  violent,  blew  every  thread  of 
canvas  from  the  yards,  and  the  ship  lay  in  the  trough  of 
the  sea,  which  very  soon  washed  overboard  all  our  officers 
and  most  of  our  men ;  while  the  huge  weight  of  water  in 
the  ship's  hold  was  bursting  off  one  deck-plank  after 
another  until  the  whole  deck  was  torn  up,  and  only  we 
three  were  left.  We  repaired  to  the  foretop  to  get  out  of 
the  way  of  the  sea,  that  had  swallowed  in  its  open  throat 
all  our  shipmates ;  and  I  had  just  strength  enough  that 
morning  to  stand  up,  and  take  what  I  expected  my  last 
look,  when  I  spied  }-ou  steering  very  near  for  us.  I  told 
my  shipmates.  Only  one  spoke ;  and  his  words  were, 
'It  is  too  late.'  But  when  you  hove  to  the  windward  of 
us,  and  lowered  your  boat,  I  was  so  afraid  that  you 
would  not  come  up  into  the  foretop,  that  I  was  deter 
mined  you  should  see  us,  and  I  laid  hold  of  a  rope,  making 
it  fast  round  the  masthead,  and  started  to  slip  down  that 
rope,  to  tell  the  brave  fellows  that  there  were  two  more 
in  the  top.  My  strength  and  all  failed  me,  and  I  fell, 
and  knew  nothing  more  till  I  found  myself  here ;  and, 
when  I  did  know  any  thing,  I  told  this  dear  good  doctor 
there  were  two  more  in  the  top.  I  think,  if  I  remember 
aright,  that  we  divided  and  ate  our  last  biscuit  five  days 
ago.  I  believe  I  have  told  you  all,  and  you  know  the 
rest.  And  now  I  want  you  to  pray  for  me,  that  God 
may  have  mercy  on  my  soul ;  for  I  told  him  in  that 
water-logged  ship's  foretop,  if  he  would  save  my  life,  that 
I  would  give  him  the  rest  of  my  days,  either  few  or 
many.  I  have  heard  you  pray  every  night ;  and  I  have 
just  longed  to  tell  you  all,  I  have  been  a  great  sinner. 
I  know  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners  ; 
but  I  fear  I  have  passed  the  rubicon  of  his  mercy." 

Mr.  Mainstay  said,  "  Capt.  Shields,  I  just  want  to  say  a 
word  or  two  to  my  dear  shipmate.  —  I  believe  you  said  you 
feared  you  had  passed  something.  I  suppose  you  meant 
you  was  afraid  you  was  too  late,  like  your  shipmates  in  the 
top."  —  "That's  it,  shipmate:  you  have  it."  —  "Well, 
now,  if  you  have  any  fears,  it  is  pretty  sure  the  Lord  has 


THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE."  83 

not  given  you  up,  shipmate  ;  for,  if  he  had  given  you  up, 
you  would  not  have  any  fears  about  the  matter.  If 
you  want  to  discharge  that  cargo  of  sin  that  you  have 
been  a  lifetime  loading  up,  you  had  better  not  try  to 
hoist  out  a  barrel  at  a  time,  but  just  go  to  Jesus,  and  tell 
him  how  sorry  you  are  (if  you  be  sorry) ,  and  ask  him  to 
unload  3"our  soul,  and  then  believe  he  will  do  it.  I  tell 
you,  shipmate,  he  will  discharge  your  whole  cargo  in  less 
than  a  minute.  That  is  the  way  he  unloaded  this  old 
hull,  and  a  wickeder  man  never  lived  than  I  have  been." 

After  Mr.  Mainstay  had  done  speaking,  Capt.  Shields 
said,  "If  there  is  any  other  man  here  that  wishes  to  be 
remembered  in  our  prayers,  if  he  will  speak  out  we  will 
carry  him  in  our  arms  of  faith  to  Jesus."  The  other 
two  men  who  had  been  rescued  said  no  men  needed  pray 
ers  more  than  they  did,  and  none  deserved  them  less ; 
for  they  had  been  great  sinners  all  their  lives.  They 
never  had  got  on  board  of  a  praj'ing  ship  before.  They 
said  they  did  not  know  much  about  heaven,  but  thought 
this  ship  must  be  something  like  it,  for  they  had  heard 
no  swearing  by  either  officers  or  men. 

Capt.  Shields  then  said,  "Let  us  all  kneel  before  the 
Lord  our  Maker."  He  offered  a  fervent  prayer,  and  was 
followed  by  the  first  and  second  officers,  and  Joe  and  Sam 
and  Dick,  Mr.  Carter  having  charge  of  the  deck.  When 
Mr.  Mainstay  prayed,  all  were  bathed  in  tears.  His 
horneby  yet  fervent  pleading  inportunity  laid  fast  hold  of 
the  promise,  saying,  — 

"  Lord,  we  cannot  let  thee  go 
Till  salvation  thou  bestow : 
Lord,  let  it  come  like  a  shower 
On  my  shipmates  this  very  hour; 
And  we  will  praise  thee  every  day, 
While  we  in  this  world  shall  stay." 

"  And,  blessed  Jesus,  thou  shalt  have  all  the  glory,  for 
ever.  Amen."  They  then  sang  Mr.  Mainstay's  favorite 
hymn,  found  in  another  part  of  this  narrative  ;  and  Capt. 
Shields  dismissed  the  meeting,  saying  he  expected  gra 
cious  results  from  this  praying-hour. 

Mr.  L ,  after  they  had  retired,  said,  "  My  dear  son, 

never  have  I  experienced  such  a  profitable  hour."  Alice 


84  THE   SHIP   "  MAKY  ALICE." 

said,  "  "We  have  had  many  such."  Annie  said,  "  I  have 
learned  more  how  to  trust  from  these  praying  sailors  than 
I  ever  knew  before  ;  but  did  you  ever  see  any  thing  equal 
to  Mr.  Mainstay's  prayer  and  his  poetry?"  Alice  said, 
"I  hope  he  will  never  leave  this  ship."  Capt.  Shields 
said  he  did  not  mean  he  ever  should,  nor  Joe  nor  Sam 
nor  Dick,  nor  Mr.  Carter. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

T  ITTLE  Mary  Alice  was  now  over  eight  months  old, 
-*-^and  could  stand  up  by  taking  hold  of  things,  and  was 
the  pet  of  all  hands  on  board.  Three  days  after,  the 
man  aloft  sung  out,  "  Land  ho  !  right  ahead,  sir  !  " 

With  the  wind  fair  and  a  good  breeze,  "  The  Mary 
Alice  "  in  a  few  hours  passed  by  the  Highland  Lighthouse, 
and  shaped  her  course  west-north-west  for  B Light 
house.  Three  hours  after,  they  took  a  pilot,  and  at  four 
P.M.  came  to  anchor  in  the  stream,  just  abreast  of  Granite 
Wharf,  arriving  Jan.  7,  1856,  after  a  passage  of  twenty- 
eight  days  from  St.  Ubes,  having  been  gone  one  year  and 
two  months,  and  having  circumnavigated  the  globe  since 
they  left  B . 

All  the  crew  and  passengers  remained  on  board ;  it 

being  so  late,  none  wished  to  leave  the  ship.  Dr.  A 

said  the  next  morning,  he  regretted  that  all  the  pleasures 
of  that  never-to-be-forgotten  voyage  were  now  terminated. 
That  night,  laying  within  three  hundred  yards  of  the 
wharf,  not  one  soul  wished  to  leave  the  ship ;  and  that 
evening  there  were  more,  tears  shed  than  ever  before. 
Each  one  felt  that  on  the  morrow  there  would  be  a  separa 
tion  which  would  be  painful  to  bear.  The  captain,  his 
officers,  and  men,  had  lived  together  like  a  great  Christian 
family,  as  they  were.  About  eight  bells  all  hands  retired 

for  rest.  In  the  morning  Capt.  Shields  and  Mr.  L 

went  on  shore  together.  After  transacting  his  business 
at  the  custom-house,  he  found  the  ship  "  Swiftsure  "  had 

arrived,  and  Capt.  B had  declined  going  again.  Mr. 

L offered  the  command  of  "The  Swiftsure"  to  Mr. 

Helm ;  which  he  gladly  accepted,  and  proposed,  if  there 
was  no  objection,  to  taking  Mr.  Carter  for  his  first  officer  ; 
which  was  agreed  to  by  all  parties.  Two  days  afterwards 
the  ship  "  Swiftsure  "  sailed  for  Bremen. 


86  THE   SHIP   "MAEY  ALICE." 

The  second  day  after  the  arrival  of  "  The  Mary  Alice," 
she  was  hauled  in  to  the  wharf;  and  }'et  Capt.  Shields  had 
said  nothing  about  discharging  any  of  his  men.  He  said 
to  Mr.  Boom,  "I  wish  you,  sir,  to  fill  the  office  of  first 
officer  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Helm,  now  master  of  the  ship 
'  Swiftsure.' — Mr.  Mainstay,  you  will  fill  the  office  va 
cated  by  Mr.  Boom."  He  then  called  Joe  aft,  and  said, 
"  Well,  Joe,  my  good  fellow,  I  want  you  to  fill  my  third 
officer's  place,  made  vacant  by  the  promotion  of  Mr. 
Carter."  He  called  for  Sam,  and  said,.  "I  wish  you  to 
accept  the  office  of  boatswain ; ' '  which  he  gladly  ac 
cepted.  He  then  'Called  his  men  aft,  and  said  he  would 
not  discharge  a  single  man  that  wished  to  remain  by  the 
ship.  Only  two  men  wished  to  be  discharged  ;  and  their 
places  were  readily  filled  by  the  three  men  they  had  taken 
from  the  wrecked  ship.  He  then  told  Mr.  Boom  he 
wanted  all  the  sails  unbent,  and  such  as  needed  repairing 
to  be  taken  between  decks,  and  set  the  best  of  the  men 
at  work  under  Mr.  Mainstay.  Mr.  Windlass  (who  had 
been  Joe)  and  Sam  (now  Mr.  Forestay)  were  to  see  to 
refitting  the  ship's  rigging,  with  such  men  as  they  needed. 
The  balance  were  employed  in  trimming  the  salt  into  the 
hatchwa}rs,  ready  for  discharging  b}-  the  stevedore.  Capt. 
Shields  gave  orders  to  Mr.  Boom  in  regard  to  ballast 
when  it  was  needed,  and,  after  giving  all  necessary  orders 
said,  "  I  shall  be  absent  perhaps  for  ten  days,  and  leave 
you  in  sole  charge,  sir.  Take  good  care  of  '  The  Mary 
Alice  '  till  my  return."  He  then  bade  all  his  men  good- 
by,  and  went  home  to  his  father's. 

Mr.  L said,  "  I  had  wanted  to  invite  all  those 

noble  men  to  my  house,  and  give  them  as  sumptuous  a 
feast  as  I  could."  —  "Better  time  to  do  that,  my  dear 
father,  when  we  return."  Alice  wanted  a  maid.  Capt. 
Shields  said,  "  You  had  better  get  a  good  country-girl." 
—  "I  guess  3rou  are  right,  my  dear  Johnny." 

The  next  morning  Johnny  and  Alice  and  her  babe,  and 

Mr.  Ernest  Shields  and  his  dear  Annie,  and  Mr.  L , 

took  the  train  for  B ,  where  they  arrived  at  noon. 

After  partaking  of  an  excellent  dinner,  Mr.  L said 

he  wished  the  landlord  to  provide  a  large,  comfortable 
carriage,  with  four  good  horses,  to  carry  their  whole  party 


THE   SHIP   "MAEY  ALICE."  87 

to  G ;  and  then  said  he  should  want  them  to  bring 

them  to  B ,  and  he  would  write  when  to   send  for 

them.  They  were  soon  under  way  towards  G ,  arriv 
ing  there  at  four  P.M.,  and  there  was  a  very  warm  greet 
ing  between  them  all.  Then  Alice  said,  "I  now  have 
the  unspeakable  pleasure  of  introducing  to  Mr.  Merritt 
and  his  wife  their  own  dear  and  double  cousins,  Mr. 
Ernest  Shields  and  his  wife,  my  ever  blissful  Annie." 

After  a  very  warm  greeting,  Mrs.  Merritt,  familiarly 
known  as  Mar}',  Capt.  Shields' s  only  sister,  said,  "  I 
think  this  introduction  to  these  new  double  cousins,  as 
sister  Alice  calls  them,  needs  some  little  explanation ; 
for  I  am  sure  my  husband  and  myself  are  in  the  dark 
about  this  matter."  —  "  Now,  sister  Mary,  I  want  you  to 
stop  and  think  before  you  answer  the  question  I  am  about 
to  ask."  —  "  Ask  on,  dear  Alice  :  I  am  all  attention."  — 
"  Do  you,  or  do  you  not,  remember  of  hearing  your  dear 
mother  say  any  thing  to  you  about  your  aunt  Annie  ? ' ' 
Mary  instantly  said  yes,  —  said  she  was  five  years  older 
than  she,  was  living  somewhere  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  State;  "but,  if  she  ever  told  me  the  name  of  the 
town,  I  have  forgotten  it."  —  "Now,  this  is  her  only 
child  and  daughter.  Her  husband  is  your  own  father's 
brother' s  son  ;  and  their  being  married  as  they  were  in 
London  makes  them  your  double  cousins."  —  "Yes  ;  but, 
Alice  dear,  how  does  my  cousin  Annie  get  to  London  ?  ' ' 

—  "  Why,  she  has  been  the  whole  voyage  round  with  us." 

—  "  Well,  that  I  can  understand."     And  the  very  inquisi 
tive  Mary  must  be  told  the  whole  story  before  she  could 
be  satisfied. 

Mr.  Merritt  said,  "Ladies  and  gentlemen,  you  must 
excuse  me.  It  is  the  evening  for  our  regular  prayer-meet 
ing,  and  I  am  expecting  to  hear  the  bell  every  moment." 
Alice  said,  "  My  dear  brother,  I  shall  not  excuse  you, 
for  I  am  going  to  that  meeting  myself,  if  I  can  find  any 
among  these  good  sister-helpers  of  yours,  my  dear  sister, 
that  will  take  care  of  Mary  Alice."  One  young  lady  said 
she  would  stop,  and  take  care  of  her  child ;  but,  if  she 
should  awake,  she  might  be  afraid  of  a  stranger.  Alice 
said,  "  She  is  a  regular  bred  sailor,  and  fears  no  one  :  if 
she  can  only  find  some  one  to  play  with  her,  she  will  be 


88  THE   SHIP   "MAKY  ALICE." 

satisfied." —  "Then,"  said  the  young  lady,  "I  will 
cheerfully  volunteer  my  services." 

The  tolling  bell  soon  called  them  all  to  the  house  of 
prayer.  After  Mr.  Merritt  had  offered  a  brief  prayer, 
thej-  began  singing  "  Rock  of  Ages  ;  "  and  when  Alice 
and  Annie  and  Mr.  Ernest  Shields  blended  their  voices 
with  them,  they  made  the  place  ring  as  it  had  not  for 
some  time  before.  After  singing,  Mr.  Merritt  read  the 
account  of  Jesus  healing  the  sick  of  palsy.  Capt.  Shields 
said,  since  he  met  with  them  some  eighteen  months  since, 
he  had  seen  man}-  sin-palsied  souls  forever  cured  of  the 

palsy  of  sin  in  its  worst  forms.     Mr.  L then  arose, 

and  said  he  could  bear  testimony  to  the  truth  of  Capt. 
Shields's  remarks  ;  for  he  had  been  an  eye-witness  to 
such  displays  of  Jesus'  love  as  he  had  never  seen  before. 
Then  Mr.  Ernest  Shields  said  he  had  never  seen  such 
wonderful  displaj's  of  Jesus'  power  to  save  sinners  as  he 
had  seen  on  board  the  ship  "Mary  Alice."  Annie  then 
said,  "'The  Mary  Alice'  I  shall  never  forget :  it  was 
from  those  rough  tars,  whom  I  shall  ever  love,  that  I 
learned  my  first  lesson  of  simple  childlike  love  and  trust 
in  Jesus."  Alice  then  rose  and  said,  "Dear  brethren 
and  sisters,  I  little  thought,  when  we  were  last  here,  that 
in  my  whole  life  I  should  ever  be  permitted  to  see  what  I 
have  seen,  and  hear  what  I  have  heard,  and  feel  and 
enjoy  what  I  have  felt  and  enjo}'ed ;  and,  if  it  were  not 
for  prolonging  your  meeting  beyond  its  ordinary  limits, 
I  should  like  to  tell  you  of  some  of  the  wonders  of  God's 
power  upon  the  ocean."  She  was  about  to  sit  down,  when 
a  dozen  voices  all  at  once  exclaimed,  "  Go  on,  dear  sister  : 
we  will  stay  till  morning  to  hear  you."  She  then  said, 
"  I  will  briefly  tell  }rou  of  one  case."  And  she  went  on 
to  describe  the  ignorance  of  the  man,  and  then  his  wick 
edness,  according  to  his  own  statement ;  how  she  and 
her  sister  Shields  had  agreed  to  pray  all  night  for  him 
if  he  would  pray,  and  of  his  sending  them  word  at  mid 
night  that  the  work  was  done.  And  then  Annie  and 
Alice  struck  up  and  sung  the  song  he  had  composed  and 
sung  that  night  he  was  converted.  When  she  had  fin 
ished,  many  of  them  were  bathed  in  tears  :  they  wished 
to  obtain  a  copy  of  that  sweet  song.  They  then  all  rose, 
and  sung  the  Doxology,  and  were  dismissed. 


THE   SHIP   "  MARY  ALICE."  89 

After  they  had  got  home,  Mary  said,  "Dear  Alice, 
why  did  you  stop  ?  You  acted  all  the  time  as  though  you 
must  hurry,  and  abbreviate  .your  narrative.  Now,  those 
men  and  women  meant  what  they  said,  when  they  said 
they  would  stay  till  morning ;  and  I  am  sure  I  could. 
Oh  !  it  was  so  interesting,  and  so  well  calculated  to  en 
courage  and  strengthen  the  faith  of  all  of  God's  people  ! 
But  I  will  try  to  be  grateful  for  what  I  did  get,  and  shall 
expect  more  from  you  next  time."  —  "Well,  my  own 
sweet  sister  Mary,"  said  Alice,  "  the  next  opportunit}*  I 
have,  I  will  try  to  make  you  twice  glad."  After  having 
their  evening  devotions,  they  all  retired  for  the  night. 
The  next  morning  after  breakfast,  they  first  visited  the 
cemetery,  and  stood  beside  the  graves  of  their  parents. 
Capt.  Shields,  leaning  over  the  stone  at  his  mother's 
grave,  said,  "  I  must  give  utterance  to  my  overloaded 
heart."  And  he  spake  amid  his  tears,  "  '  My  prayers  will 
be  answered:  God  will  save  you,  my  dear  boy.'  These 
were  the  dying-words  of  my  now  sainted  mother.  They 
have  been  answered  in  my  own  salvation.  But  look,  and 
measure  the  effects  of  those  prayers  upon  other  hearts, 
and  their  influence  again  over  the  minds  of  others  ;  and 
that  influence  will  never  cease  until  the  last  sinner  is 
saved:"  He  then  knelt  between  the  two  graves,  and 
poured  out  his  full  soul  for  God  to  guide,  to  teach,  to 
lead,  and  control  him  in  all  his  future  history. 

The}'  then  visited  together  their  old  home  where  they 
were  born,  the  room  where  his  mother  died,  the  black 
smith's  shop  where  his  dear  father  once  toiled  to  earn 
bread  for  his  family.  As  he,  with  his  wife  on  his  arm, 
looked  at  all  these  things,  he  said,  "  Every  thing  of  my 
past  history  is  a  living  present  to-day.  All  my  boyish 
freaks  with  my  precious  sister  —  even  the  sounding  of 
the  horn  from  that  attic-window  you  see  yonder,  the  fatal 
pitchfork,  and  my  cowardly  running  away  and  leaving 
that  loving  sister  alone  and  unprotected,  if  I  could,  in 
my  selfishness  save  myself — meet  me  here  to-day."— 
"Why,  Johnny,  I  think  you  never  told  me  the  reasons 
why  jTou  left  the  country  for  a  sea-life."  —  "  Neither  did 
I  think  it  necessary,  my  dear  Alice,  to  tell  you  all  the 
evil  things  which  I  have  done :  it  would  be  a  much  larger 


90  THE   SHIP   "MARY  ALICE. 

volume  of  my  history  than  I  should  care  to  have  you  read 
just  now,  Alice  dear." 

The  next  day  was  the  holy  sabbath,  which  was  both 
clear  and  cold ;  and  Mr.  Merritt  said,  after  their  morning 
devotions,  "I  have  always  made  it  my  practice  to  en 
deavor  to  present  truth  in  the  quality  and  quantity  which 
I  thought  best  calculated  to  promote  my  people's  spiritu 
ality.  You  all  saw  the  deep  interest  with  which  they 
listened  to  our  dear  sister  Alice  and  cousin  Annie  at  our 
last  prayer-meeting.  I  propose,  therefore,  with  your 
consent,  that  you  agree  among  yourselves  the  part  each 
shall  take  in  telling  us,  in  your  own  way,  the  most  inter 
esting  portion  of  your  late  voyage.  I  shall  preach  this 
morning,  and,  with  your  consent,  will  tell  my  people  of 
the  afternoon  programme." 

They  all  agreed  to  brother  Merritt' s  proposal ;  and  Alice 
then  said,  "  I  would  give  a  hundred  dollars  if  Mr.  Main 
stay  was  here  this  morning."  Her  father  said,  "  I  would 
give  five  hundred ;  for  I  believe  he  would  do  more  good 
than  all  of  us  put  together."  —  "  The  bell  is  ringing,  and 
we  must  soon  be  on  our  way  to  meeting,"  said  Mr.  Mer 
ritt,  "for  I  like  to  be  prompt  as  to  time."  Mr.  L 

said  that  little  could  be  accomplished  in  this  world  with 
out  system ;  and  they  left  the  parsonage  for  the  house  of 
worship.  As  this  group  of  visitors  entered  the  church, 
led  by  their  pastor,  the  whole  congregation  arose,  and  re 
mained  standing  till  all  had  been  seated.  The  choir  then 
sung  a  hymn  of  welcome,  and  all  was  silent.  Mr.  Merritt 
offered  an  invocation,  returning  thanks  for  past  blessings, 
and  earnestly  imploring  present  aid.  After  singing,  Mr. 
Merritt  read  the  fifth  chapter  of  second  Corinthians,  and 
then  poured  out  his  full  soul  in  such  a  trusting  and  yet 
importuning  prayer,  that  all  were  melted  and  subdued. 
After  singing  again,  he  announced  the  first  verse  of  the 
chapter  he  had  read  as  his  text :  "  For  we  know,  if  this 
earthly  house  of  our  tabernacle  were  dissolved,  we  have  a 
building  of  God,  an  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal 
in  the  heavens."  He  first  described  the  beauty,  strength, 
and  utility  of  our  bodies  ;  but,  as  they  were  material,  they 
would  be  dissolved  by  death;  secondly,  he  _  showed  the 
vast  importance  of  securing  the  knowledge  in  the  text. 


THE  SHIP   "MARY  ALICE."  91 

He  then  said  God  had  made  the  provision  so  ample,  that 
none  need  to  die  without  an  assurance  of  that  knowledge, 
and  urged  all  to  seek  it  then  and  there.  Dela}-s  were 
dangerous,  time  short,  and  life  uncertain  ;  and  what  was 
done  to  secure  a  preparation  must  be  done  quickly. 

Mr.  Merritt  then  said,  "We  have  several  old,  tried 
friends  with  us  to-day,  who  this  afternoon  will  give  us  some 
reminiscences  of  their  late  voyage  around  the  globe."  In 
the  afternoon  the  house  was  well  filled  ;  and  Alice  handed 
Mr.  Merritt  quite  a  package,  saying,  "Please  hand  it  to 
the  chorister."  She  had,  on  the  voyage,  adapted  the  music 
to  the  words  of  Bill's  hymn  ;  and  she  and  Annie  had  sung 
it  at  the  prayer-meeting,  and  she  had  prepared  these  copies 
agreeably  to  their  request.  The  meeting  opened  with  a 
voluntary  on  the  part  of  the  choir ;  and  a  fervent  prayer 

was  then  offered  by  Mr.  L .  Mr.  Merritt  then  read 

the  hundred  and  seventh  psalm,  or  that  portion  relating 
to  seamen,  found  from  the  twent}--third  to  thirty-second 
verses. 

Capt.  Shields  then  arose,  and  in  a  brief  manner  related 

the  most  interesting  events  which  occurred  from  B to 

San  Francisco.  Then  Annie  arose,  and  related  with 
great  precision  the  events  from  San  Francisco  to  Mel 
bourne,  involving  Alice's,  confinement,  and  the  mutiny 
and  how  it  was  quelled,  and  the  number  of  souls  con 
verted  ;  and,  before  she  completed  her  recital,  all  wept 
like  children.  After  singing  a  hymn,  Alice  arose,  and 
said,  "  From  Melbourne  to  London,  nothing  unusual  oc 
curred,  except  the  conversion  of  several  of  our  men.  In 
London  our  dear  cousin  who  last  spoke  to  you  was  mar 
ried  ;  and  in  a  few  days  we  sailed  for  St.  Ubes,  and  from 

that  place  to  B .  On  our  passage  to  B ,  one  day 

we  espied  a  vessel ;  and,  as  we  drew  nearer,  we  saw  she 
was  a  wreck.  Two  of  her  masts  were  gone  ;  and  we  sent 
our  boat  to  her,  although  there  was  a  heavy  sea  running. 
And  three  men,  by  our  dear,  daring,  and  self-sacrificing 
men,  were  taken  from  the  foretop  of  that  floating  wreck, 
brought  on  board  of  our  ship,  restored  to  consciousness 

and  health  ;  and,  better  than  all,  before  we  reached  B 

all  three  of  those  men  were  regenerated  by  the  Spirit's 
power,  and  made  to  rejoice  in  a  Savior's  forgiving  love." 


92  THE  SHIP   "MAKY   ALICE." 

After  Alice  had  sat  down,  an  aged  man  arose,  and  said, 
"Dear  brethren,  how  this  daring  bravery  of  risking 
their  own  lives  to  seek  and  save  others  is  like  the  love  of 
Jesus  dying  for  us !  and  how  it  puts  to  blush  our  in 
difference  in  behalf  of  our  wives,  children,  and  friends  ! 
I  feel  to-day,  from  what  I  have  heard,  like  hiding  my  face 
in  the  dust  before  God,  to  implore  him  to  forgive  my  sins, 
and  constrain  me  to  do  my  duty  better  in  the  future." 
Several  others  spoke ;  and  then  Bill's  favorite  hymn  was 
sung,  which,  with  the  aid  of  the  organ,  moved  every  heart. 
That  evening  the}7  had  a  very  interesting  meeting. 

The   next  morning,  having  exchanged   several   letters 

with  the  Rev.  Mr.  B of  D ,  Mr.  Shields  said  it 

was  really  necessaiy  for  him  and  his  wife  to  leave  them, 
to  attend  to  his  wife's  business.  The  leave-taking  was 
tender  and  tearful.  It  was  very  hard  for  Alice  to  part 
with  Annie.  She  seemed  to  her  as  an  own  sister.  They 
had  loved  each  other  with  all  the  warmth  of  sisterly 
affection. 

After  Annie  and  her  husband  had  left,  Capt.  Shields 

said  they  would  have  to  return  to  B on  the  morrow  ; 

that  his  business  was  such,  that  it  could  not  be  longer 
neglected.  Alice  had  employed  as  her  maid  Miss  Susan 
Hall,  the  young  lady  that  took  care  of  her  child  the  even 
ing  she  attended  the  prayer-meeting.  Alice's  sister  Mary 
had  a  little  daughter,  which  she  had  named  Alice  Bliss 
Merritt ;  and  there  was  only  one  week's  difference  in  the 
ages  of  Alice's  and  Mary's  children.  The  next  morning, 
after  breakfast,  at  their  morning  devotions  fervent  prayers 
were  laid  upon  God's  altar  for  his  blessing  upon  each  one 
present,  and  for  Annie  and  her  husband  ;  and  the  leave- 
taking  was  not  only  solemn,  but  it  was  touching  and 
tender.  Capt.  Shields,  embracing  his  dear  sister,  said, 
"  Dear  Mary,  there  will  be  a  last  time  that  we  shall  meet. 
As  we  do  not  know  when  it  will  come,  and  as  this  may 
be  the  last  time  we  may  ever  see  each  other,  I  now  pre 
sent  to  you,  my  only  dear  sister,  this  memento  of  your 
only  brother  John  and  sister  Alice."  The  memento  was 
a  large,  beautiful  gold  locket,  with  a  perfect  likeness  of 
himself  and  wife.  He  then  gave  her  another,  with  the 
picture  of  his  father  Mr.  L ,  and  their  darling  Mary 


THE  SHIP   "MARY  ALICE."  93 

Alice.  Mary  said  she  had  no  words  to  express  her  grati 
tude  for  the  two  lockets,  and  hoped  she  should  be  able 
some  day  to  repay  them  for  these  tokens  of  esteem  and 
affection.  The  carriage  had  arrived  ;  and  Capt.  Shields 

and  wife,  and  Mr.  L ,  and  Susan  with  Mary  Alice, 

entered  the  carriage.  The  final  good-by  was  spoken ; 

and  they  started  on  their  way  to  B ,  where  they  took 

the  train  for  their  city  home,  where  they  arrived  about 
noon.  Capt.  Shields  immediately  repaired  to  his  ship ; 
and  Mr.  Boom  gave  him  a  warm  reception,  as  did  all  his 
men.  Mr.  Boom  reported  all  he  had  done, — the  cargo 
had  been  discharged,  every  sail  put  in  first-rate  repair,  be 
sides  making  one  new  topsail,  and  the  ship's  rigging  was 
read}"  for  another  year's  wear.  Capt.  Shields  expressed 
his  entire  satisfaction  with  all  that  had  been  done  during 
his  absence.  A  few  days  after,  Capt.  Shields  had  a 
freight  offered  him  to  the  Isle  of  France,  or  Mauritius, 

and  from  there  to  Manilla,  and  back  to  B .  In  a 

few  days  he  had  accepted  their  proposals,  and  filled  the 
ship's  lower  hold  with  all  kinds  of  lumber  and  timber  for 
building-purposes  ;  and  between  decks  was  filled  with  all 
kinds  of  ship's  spars  of  different  sizes.  In  a  few  more 
days  "  The  Mary  Alice  "  was  ready  for  sea.  Three  new 
men  were  shipped  to  fill  up  the  complement.  Capt. 
Shields  and  his  wife,  with  Susan  and  Mary  Alice,  jun., 

with  Mr.  L ,  came  on  board ;  and  Dr.  A said  it 

would  cost  no  more  for  him  to  board  on  the  ship  than  in 

the  city.  Capt.  Shields  said,  "  Dr.  A ,  if  you  will  go 

with  me  on  this  voyage,  it  shall  not  cost  you  a  cent.  My 

father,  I  know,  will  assent  to  this  proposal."  Mr.  L 

said,  "I  shall  certainly  consent  to  any  thing  the  captain 
proposes  to  do." 

Dr.  A and  his  wife,  with  their  baggage,  were  soon 

on  board;  and  the  noble  "Mary  Alice"  glided  out  of 
the  harbor,  bound  for  Mauritius.  We  now  leave  her, 

with  our  best  wishes  for  her  safe  return  to  B after 

she  has  visited  her  ports  of  destination.  She  sailed 
March  1,  1856. 

It  is  the  author's  earnest  wish,  that  all  who  read  this 
narrative  ma}*  be  impressed  with  the  power  and  influence 
which  the  principles  illustrated  in  this  narrative  are  so 


94  THE  SHIP   "MAEY  ALICE." 

well  calculated  to  produce.  In  the  captain  of  "  The  Mary 
Alice  "  we  see  a  bold,  daring  bravery ;  a  man  of  wisdom 
and  decision,  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  all  tempered 
and  controlled  by  a  never-flagging  love  to  God  and  men, 
that  is  rarely  found,  and  seldom  equalled,  and  yet  is 
attainable  by  all.  And  my  only  desire  is,  that  every 
reader  of  this  brief  narrative  may,  through  its  influence, 
kindle  its  soul-saving  fire  of  divine  love  upon  their  hearts 
in  such  a  degree  as  shall  make  them  all  as  fruitful  as  the 
subjects  of  this  brief  work.  Consistent,  active,  daily, 
practical,  self-denying  Christians,  like  the  captain  of 
"  The  Mary  Alice,"  make  the  world  better  because  they 
have  lived  in  it. 

I  now  record,  in  conclusion,  the  hymn  composed  and 

sung  at  their  wedding  in  B ,  in  June,  1854,  which  I 

noted  at  the  time  of  their  marriage  :  — 

At  the  bridal  altar  now 
We  together  pledge  our  vow; 
Record  our  united  love 
In  thy  register  above. 

Here  we  pledge  our  hearts  and  hands, 
To  be  joined  in  life-long  bands ; 
And  we  here  accept  to-day 
Bonds  that  bind  eternally. 

I  sought  her ;  she  is  my  bride ; 
In  her  love  I  now  confide : 
Now  she  is  forever  mine, 
I  to  her  my  heart  resign. 

His  proposal  I  receive : 
I  am  his,  I  now  believe. 
He  is  mine,  I  ask  no  more,  — 
Mine  now  and  forevermore. 

May  their  lives  unspotted  be, 
Jesus  having  set  them  free ! 
Their  example  ever  shine, 
Show  religion  is  divine. 

Lord,  now  ratify  their  vow 
Which  they  make  before  thee  now : 
Save  from  sin  and  every  snare, 
Let  them  both  thy  glory  share ! 

T.  ATWOOD. 


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